


My Own Personal Guard Dog

by NateTheWolf



Series: Personal Guard Dog Series [1]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Clamy - Freeform, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Minor Violence, Modern AU, Pondswald, Serious Injuries, Tags May Change, attempted drowning, slight twissy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2020-07-10 21:39:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 38,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19912693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NateTheWolf/pseuds/NateTheWolf
Summary: Amy finds a stray on her way home and decides to keep it.





	1. Picking Up A Stray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amy finds an injured dog in the street and decided to look after it until it's better.

“Of course, I’d leave my purse in Mels car, why wouldn’t I double check my pockets?!” Amy groaned as she waved her hands in the air, exaggerating her frustration. She stomped in a puddle to let her anger out, but it just added to it when her foot got even more wet. 

It had been raining all night, so she had a light waterproof jacket on, yet only had high heels on her feet to protect her from the cold weather. Her plan was to get a taxi, but she didn’t have the money, so walking alone for thirty minutes in the dark was her only option. 

“I’m gonna get a cold,” she mumbled to herself as she put her hood up for the thousandth time since she left The Fountain Inn. Mels had set her up for a blind date. It didn’t go too well. On the plus side, he still agreed to pay for the meal even though she had expressed her disinterest in him. The only problem with him was he was rather boisterous about his previous sexual encounters, and had no trouble expressing how good he seemed when he listed his past relationships. It made Amy shudder just to think what he would say if she was on that list. 

A whimper caught her attention, making her come out of her recollection of the date and stop. She glanced around to see where the noise came from, hoping whatever or whoever made that noise was okay. It was dark after all. As she looked down a dark alley way, she heard it more prominently, more desperate sounding as whatever was making it seemingly came closer. Suddenly, a rather large looking, drenched, limping, dog emerged from the shadows, whining and whimpering any time it’s back leg lightly touched the ground. The dog stopped like a dear caught in headlights when it saw her. 

Smiling slightly, Amy slowly knelt down to the dog. “Hey there bud,” she slowly extended her hand for it to sniff. “It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you.” 

Cautiously, the dog limped closer and sniffed at her hand, and then nudged it with his head. As he got closer Amy noticed that he seemed like some sort of wolf dog, and that the left hind leg was never touching the ground. 

“You’re cute,” she commented as she stroked the wolf dog on the head lightly. “Can you walk for five more minutes?” 

The wolf dog looked up, as if he understood her. She just grinned, “C’mon boy, let’s get out of this rain. I’ll help you with the leg after? What about that?” 

She stood up, wobbled slightly as she lost her balance when her heel got stuck in a small gap in the brick floor, and backed away from the canine, hoping it would follow. Luckily, it did, and kept close to the girl. True to her word, it was only five minutes left until they reached her house. She opened the door as quickly as possible, and let the stray wolf dog in before hopping in herself and switching the light on. The canine looked around the hall before sitting down, however awkwardly due to the injured leg. 

“Okay, before you shake let me grab a towel... Actually, do you want a bath? It’ll be warm and... And you can’t understand me,” Amy said as she walked past the wolf dog. She took her heels off and rushed upstairs, but stopped when she heard a whimper. “Yup, just getting a towel!” 

The whimpering stopped. Did this wolf dog really understand her? Or was it just the tone of her voice? Shrugging the thought away, Amy grabbed a blue towel and walked downstairs only to see the canine sitting at the bottom of the stairs. 

“Okay,” she sat at the bottom step with the towel in her hands. “There aren’t any vets that are open right now, so what about a warm bath so you don’t get a cold and I’ll try to see what’s wrong with your leg? Stay sitting if you understand and want a bath first.” 

He stayed sitting. 

“This is weird,” she sighed as she stood up. She looked down at the wolf dog, who just continued to stare at her, and back up at the stairs. “I’m gonna have to carry you, aren’t I?” 

The wolf dog glanced upstairs and went to stand, holding his leg up. Amy put the towel on the banister and gently tried to put his front paws on her shoulders, but she looked down at the injured leg, realizing she would have to touch it for the wolf dog to be picked up like that, and would probably result in her ear being chewed off. As she thought about how to pick the canine up, she noticed that something was missing from him, but couldn’t put her finger on it. Until the brown, most likely German Shepherd crossed with wolf, moved to stand, seemingly uncomfortable with being held like that. 

Realisation dawned on her. “Oh my God, you’re a girl dog!” 

The wolf dog tilted _her_ head to the side slightly, confused with the sudden outburst and guilt in the tone of her voice. 

“Sorry lass,” Amy smiled awkwardly as she patted her on the head. “I don’t know many dogs to know the difference.” 

Before the wolf dog could react, she bolted upright to get the towel and draped it over the canine’s body. “I can’t carry you to the bath, so I’ll just dry you up and I’ll bandage up your leg in the meantime. I’ll take you to the vet tomorrow.” 

And she did just that. Well, except for the vet part. She had struggled to get the leg bandaged up since anytime she touched it the canine would growl at her, or yelp. Amy decided she needed help so she called the only person who could. 

“Hey Rory Williams, I can’t get to the phone by now so leave a message and I’ll get back to you soon!” 

“Great,” she muttered as the tone went. “Hey Rory! Can you pop over as soon as you get this? I need to know the difference between a sprain and broken leg and how to bandage it up. Thanks, bye!” 

The wolf dog whined as she looked at the bandaged-up leg, resting on the towel. Amy twirled around and smiled at her. 

“Sorry, we’re going to have to wait until morning lass,” she smiled sheepishly as she pocketed her phone. “Um, I don’t feel comfortable leaving you here, maybe we can try to work together to get you upstairs?” 

The canine looked up to where she pointed and slowly tried to get up, succeeding gradually. She limped over to the first step and hopped up. Amy stayed right behind her in case she fell, but she didn't. Slowly, they both made it up the stairs, the wolf dog panting once she reached the bedroom, whereas Amy cheered and petted her as she congratulated her for doing it.

"If I had a treat I'd so give you one," she grinned, and then smiled sympathetically when she saw the wolf dog lie down on the floor for rest. "Well, you stay put I'll just get ready for bed."

Once she did that she hopped into bed, the events of the evening finally taking its toll on her energy. However, before she got comfortable she heard a whimper from her new guest and glanced at the carpeted floor to her bed a few times. Sighing whilst thinking she must be out of her mind, Amy summoned all her energy and strength as she slid out of bed and to the wolf dog, cautiously leaning down to face her.

"Don't be alarmed," she reassured once she saw the tired canine's head snap up. "I'm gonna try to pick you up so you can sleep on my bed with me. Just don't bite my head off yeah?"

If a dog could nod in agreement, Amy could have sworn this one did. She smiled as she carefully picked the large canine up, trying to avoid touching the injured leg as she brought her over onto the double bed. Once the dog got comfortable she switched her light off and climbed into bed.

"Night pup."

* * *

When the morning came Amy turned in her bed to face the window, noticing the brightness of the light seeping through the curtains. She heard a sigh from in front of her. It frightened her half-asleep brain until she remembered she had a wolf dog next to her. However, that sigh sounded too human like for comfort. Confused, and slightly worried, Amy opened to eyes in hopes of her seeing the canine there. She didn’t. In place of the canine was a rather small naked brunette girl, who opened her eyes seemingly due to the sunlight waking her up. Safe to say, Amy was no longer half-asleep. 

“What the?!” 

The brunette jumped up, eyes wide as she put as much distance between her and the red-head. “I-I can ex-” 

“I sure hope you can!” 

Flinching, she shuffled to the edge of the bed as Amy leaned closer to her, examining her. The girl yelped once she hit the floor, clutching at her bandaged-up leg. Amy jumped up from her bed and rushed over to the brunette’s aid, noticing her leg was the same one the canine from last night and how it couldn’t have been a coincidence. The girl flinched and attempted to shuffle back once she saw her, she was obviously scared. 

“Okay,” the Scot sighed as she slowly knelt down to her height. “I’m not going to hurt you, I just want answers. I’ll get you some clothes and we’ll have breakfast yeah? Hopefully you can explain stuff then?” 

The girl looked over her, searching for any sort of danger. She found none. Amy smiled as best she could to show she was still no threat, yet not too much so she wouldn’t scare the brunette. When she saw her nod, she extended her hand slowly. 

“Great, c’mon then,” she grinned. The girl slowly took her hand and tried to stand, however, due to her bad leg, she stumbled onto the bed. Luckily, Amy helped her settle down on the edge of her bed. She looked over the brunette, seeing that she clutched onto the mattress like her life depended on it, and that she was still nude. “Ah right, clothes...” 

Amy trailed off as she spun around to her wardrobe, remembering she had a shirt that was a bit small for her there. As she rummaged around to find it she heard a small whimper from behind, one could only assume from the brunette. Quickly, she found it and twirled back to her. 

“You okay?” 

She stilled, staring wide eyed at the human. Was that the wrong thing to say? Amy looked down and noticed her hand on her bandaged leg. Slowly, she approached her like she did in the street. 

“Just try to not put pressure on it, okay?” she smiled as she passed the shirt to her. The girl slowly took it, sniffed it, and felt the fabric. “You do know how to wear clothes right? Or what they are?” 

“Um, y-yes...” 

“Good, just checking,” Amy grinned. “What’s your name by the way?” 

The girl looked up at her as she was putting the blue plaid shirt on. She seemed rather hesitant to answer, but did so anyway. “C-Clara. Yours?” 

“Oh, I didn’t realise... Well you don’t usually introduce yourself to dogs-” 

“I’m not a dog,” she growled slightly as she buttoned up the shirt incorrectly. 

“Yes, you’re not,” Amy looked over her, noticing she missed two buttons. “Misspoke, a werewolf that you thought was a wolf dog until a girl appears in your bed. Do you want help with that?” 

Clara paused and examined what she could have done wrong, a frustrated look on her face when she realized and unbuttoned it. 

“Here, let me help,” the human slowly sat down next to her and held her hands out, waiting for Clara to remove hers from the shirt. Reluctantly, she did so. “Are you going to be like this all the time?” 

“L-Like what?” 

“Annoyed at me for helping.” 

Clara shuffled awkwardly, adverting her gaze. “S-Sorry... I-I'm just annoyed at myself f-for getting c-caught...” 

“Caught?” Amy finished buttoning up her shirt and stood up. “There, just need to get you some jeans...” 

“Y-You finding out about me...” 

“Oh,” she stopped once she got to her wardrobe. “Guessing there’s an unspoken law about that huh?” 

“You c-could say that,” Clara sighed. “On the plus side...” 

Amy turned around with a pair of black jeans in her hand when she trailed off. The brunette stared down at her feet, hands nervously fumbling with the hem of the shirt in her lap. 

“Plus side?” she prompted gently as she knelt down in front of her, prepared to help with the jeans. 

“Um... Y-You're not going to uh, d-do or say a-anything a-are you...?” 

“Who would believe me?” she grinned up at her, however it was not returned. She saw the worried look on the girl’s face, and gently place her free hand on hers, rubbing her thumb in circles slowly for comfort. “Hey, it’s okay. I said I wasn’t going to hurt you and I won’t, no matter what you are. For now, you’re injured and I’m going to look after you until you’re healed. After that you can do whatever you want.” 

Clara finally looked up at her in confusion. “Y-You aren’t going to tell anyone?” 

“There’s no point,” Amy shrugged. “Out of anything it would put you in danger, so no, I’m not. Stick your good leg out for me?” 

She did so slowly so she wouldn’t kick the human, who just smiled appreciatively at her as she pulled the fabric over it. 

“T-Thanks um...” 

“Oh, it’s Amy,” she smiled as she carefully put her leg through the other hole. The brunette hissed and whimpered as she nudged the bandaged part of the leg with her knuckle or lightly grazed a finger against it. “Sorry.” 

Before Clara could respond there was a knock at the door, making both of the girls freeze. 

“Amy?!” 


	2. No Problem

“I called Rory last night,” Amy sighed as she rushed to the window to open it. “Hey, door should be open come up!”

“B-But-”

“He would have kicked the door down if I didn’t answer,” she smiled sheepishly as she skipped over to the bedroom door, keeping watch for Rory once she heard her front door open. “Don’t worry I didn’t say anything about a dog, he’s just here to see your leg.”

“O-Okay,” Clara sighed as she awkwardly pulled the rest of the jeans on, wincing when she applied slight pressure to her injured leg.

“Amy are you okay?” a rather bewildered brunet man stumbled into the room. He paused once he noticed the smaller girl on the bed. “Who’s this and why is she wearing your clothes?”

“This is Clara,” Amy introduced as she sat down next to her. “I found her last night in... A rather bad condition, but she argued that she didn’t want to go to the hospital until she knew if her leg was broken or not. Hence why I called you!”

“Why not Martha?”

“She was on the night shift,” she shrugged before turning to the girl. “Clara, this is my best friend Rory, he’s a nurse at the local hospital. He’s gonna look at your leg okay?”

She merely nodded and glanced up at him. 

“Okay,” Rory nodded as he knelt down in front of the brunette. He gently held onto the bandaged-up leg and unwrapped it, muttering apologies every time she winced or tensed up. Amy  held onto her hand as he looked over it, for comfort and in case she attacked or growled at him. She jumped when she did so but leaned into the touch, both of them hoping that Rory mistook the flinch for pain from her injury. Based on his mumbled apology, he did.

Amy noticed her leg looked bruised from the ankle up to her knee and that there were a few scrapes on it. Oddly enough, she never noticed any when she was in wolf form, then again, she reckoned that was down to the fur.

“You’re going to need to be seen by a doctor,” Rory concluded as  h e  gently let go and  stood up.

Seeing  Clara’s nervousness flare up at the new information , Amy jumped in before he could question her . “We’ll see if Martha’s in, she’ll let me stay with you then.”

The brunette looked up at her, a small smile on her face that was quickly replaced with a pained expression when Rory put the jean over the leg. A small growl escaped her which made him shoot back up and step away from her.

“Sorry, just trying to help.”

“Rory,” Amy started, unsure of how she could explain  an animalistic growl, no matter how small it was, to him. “Just... Just wait downstairs yeah? I’ll get her down. Oh, and maybe see if you can talk to Martha.”

“Okay,” he nodded, almost frantically, as he rushed downstairs.

“S-Sorry,” Clara finally spoke, her hands clenched at her sides.

“What for?”

“Growling at him...”

“Oh, well,” the red-head smiled sheepishly. “He didn’t think anything of it, and it seems like it’s just an instinct you have so, it’s cool.”

“O-Okay,” Clara nodded , still looking uncomfortable. “Do I really have to go to the h-hospital?”

“You don’t like them then?”

“No,” she shook her head. “W-What if they find out? I-I don’t live here...”

Amy shuffled closer and grabbed her still clenched fists for comfort. “The only way they’d know is if you got your blood tested, which they won’t do. They’re just going to tend to your leg, and you can say you live here for a bit. We can stick to the story of me finding you, just uh... I dunno, maybe you got kicked out for something? We don’t need to disclose all details, but just in case we do get separated-”

“Separated?” Clara’s head snapped up with a panicked expression. “W-Why would we get separated?”

“Well,” Amy started uncertainly, trying to think of a response. “Not for long like. Just if they need to X-Ray your leg or something, or if they think it’s best I’m not there since we’re not family.”

“Um... O-Okay,” she nodded slowly, her tongue flicked to her lips for which the human could only assume was out of nerves. “We uh, w-we better go before your friend g-get's annoyed.”

“Annoyed?” Amy laughed as she stood up. “Worried maybe, but not annoyed.”

Nodding, she tried to stand but stumbled back into Amy with a yelp. She groaned as she pushed herself up, apologising to the human. However, when she tried to move again Amy grabbed onto her arms as she slowly stood up herself.

“I’ll be the crutch yeah?” she smiled as she wrapped an arm around her waist.

“T-Thanks,” Clara whispered, blushing slightly.

“No problem.”


	3. Questions Answered

Clara groaned as she wobbled into the house, her hands gripped onto the crutches like her life depended on it as she lifted herself to use her non-injured leg. It was almost as difficult as hopping everywhere. She growled when she hit one of the crutches against the door frame of the kitchen, almost toppling over until Amy caught her. 

“Still getting used to them huh?” she laughed slightly as she held the brunette upright and helped her to the seat by the table. 

“Yeah,” Clara sighed as put them to the side, leaning against the table. “Thanks.” 

“No problem,” Amy grinned as she put her bag down on the counter. She checked the clock on the wall before looking in the fridge. “What do you want for lunch?” 

“Um,” she shifted as she glanced around the room. “W-What do you have?” 

“Bacon, sausage, bread, ham, tuna, salad, egg, crisp,” she listed out. “We could have a bacon and sausage sandwich? Assuming you’re not vegetarian?” 

Smirking slightly, she shook her head. “No, I’m not. It would be rather difficult if I was.” 

“Okay, cool,” Amy grabbed the food before collecting the pans and trays. She set them down on the counter and turned the oven on. As she prepared Clara just sat on the chair, observing her surroundings patiently. “Sausage takes longer so I’ll put them in first.” 

“Okay,” the brunette merely muttered with a small nod. There was an awkward silence as the human put the food in the oven and sat down across the table from her. They both avoided eye contact for a bit, both unsure of what to say. 

“Alright,” Amy sighed, getting the attention of the injured girl. “I’m just gonna say it.” 

Clara braced herself for what the human was about to say. 

“I can’t believe our luck with the cover story,” she laughed slightly. “You have to admit Martha is good though, right?” 

“Y-Yeah, she was...” 

* * *

“So Miss Oswald,” Martha started as she looked at the injured leg. “How long have you felt this pain?” 

“Y-Yesterday,” she fiddled nervously with her hands in her lap. If they were sticking to Amy finding her it would make sense for the leg to be broken yesterday rather than a few days like it had. She jumped when the red-head walked through the doors with a cup of water. 

“Here ya go,” she said cheerfully as she passed the plastic cup to her. The brunette merely stared at it, wanting to sniff at it to see what it was, but she refrained. “It’s for your nerves, in case you get a dry throat.” 

Clara nodded as she took it, only now noticing that her throat had been getting dryer the more she had been there. Thankfully, Martha didn’t make her talk. 

“You two met yesterday?” the doctor turned to her friend, discarding the series of questions she’d have to ask eventually. 

“Yeah,” Amy smiled as she sat down on the chair closest to the bed. “She hasn’t told me how it happened though.” 

Well, that was true. With all of the panicking when they woke up she forgot to say anything about her recent past. Funnily enough, the cover story wasn’t that far from the truth. 

“All I know is she got kicked out and she’ll be staying with me until her leg heals.” 

Martha looked between the two before looking at her clip board and making a note. “Well by the looks of it, it does seem to be broken but it should heal in 6 to 8 weeks. It may hurt for a bit after, just make sure you get plenty of rest,” she looked over the board. “Oh, sorry forgot, how old are you?” 

“Oh uh, t-twenty-two,” Clara stammered, glancing at Amy for any reaction. The only one she got was an encouraging smile. 

“Do you want to call your parents? Or any one that should be here besides Amy?” 

Clara looked down at her still fumbling hands, trying to figure out how to respond. “M-My uh... N-No, no one else but Amy...” 

“I’m sorry but I have to check that you’re sure, especially since you two haven’t known each other for more than a day,” Martha stated as she tapped the board with her pen. She seemed to understand that she didn’t want to talk about it but had to make sure to protect her job. “For all anyone else knows this could be a hostage type thing.” 

“Hey,” the red-head mock scowled, which resulted in both of the humans giggling to each other, whereas Clara just stared down at her knees. 

“Y-Yeah, just Amy.” 

“Okay then,” Martha sighed. “Well we need to get you some crutches and put a cast over your leg. We’ll give Amy the painkillers whilst you’re getting your leg cast. After that you should be able to get home, and remember to get rest even after the cast is off. Okay?”

* * *

“Its annoying that the painkillers don’t work...” 

“Yeah, the most you can do now is just rest really,” Amy shrugged. “What did you think of Martha? You didn’t growl at her, so I call that an achievement, even when she grabbed your leg to put the cast on.” 

“Yeah,” she nodded. “Y-Yeah, she was good. I uh, I’m actually surprised I didn’t growl at her.” 

“It’s good that you didn’t, and I’m proud of you,” she grinned as she hopped up to check the sausages. 

“P-Proud of me?” Clara tilted her head, confused yet oddly relieved at hearing the human say that. 

“Yeah,” Amy opened the packet of bacon and turned the hob on. “I know we haven’t known each other long, but since you growled at me and Rory when we checked your leg, it’s good and must’ve taken a lot of restraint not to growl at Martha in the hospital.” 

“Oh uh, t-thanks,” she shuffled in her seat, unsure of how to respond. 

“So uh,” the human sat back down suddenly, so much so that it made the brunette jump. “Mind if I start asking questions now?” 

Clara gulped but slowly nodded. “Fire away.” 

“Can you uh, control I guess?”

“Control what?” she tilted her head.

“Sorry uh,” Amy shook her head, looking flustered. “Control when  you turn?”

“Oh uh,” the brunette straightened up in her seat. “After a w-while you can, once you’ve learnt, but can’t c-control it on a full moon. Oh, and b-before I forget, on full moons my eyes w-will be gold throughout the day. J-Just a warning...”

“Noted,” the human got up again to check the food. “Um, how long have you been a werewolf?”

“Um...”

“Y-You don’t have to answer all of  these, if you don’t  wa -”

“About twelve years now.”

Amy paused, almost dropping the spatula in the pan. There was a small gap of silence, well, apart from the sizzling of bacon, between the two as she put the heat on medium and sat back down.

“Twelve years?” Amy echoed in quiet disbelief and bewilderment. “So, you were j-just a child when you were turned?”

“Y-Yeah...”

“M-May I ask...?”

Clara sighed. “Missy. S-She's uh, the Alpha of the pack. She a-apparently saw something in me and decided to risk it.”

“Risk it?” Amy’s head snapped up.

“Um, well w-with a bite it’s always p-possible the human c-could die instead,” she shuddered. “She didn’t care.”

“So, if you’re part of a pack, where are they now?” the human asked carefully,  subconsciously looking around discreetly.

“Don’t know,” Clara shrugged. “They uh... W-Well I was exiled... A-Alpha got b-bored of me a-and the other Beta’s don’t like me...”

“I’m sorry,” Amy reached over to the brunette, but stopped when she flinched. Slowly, she pushed herself up from the table and turned to the oven, not wanting to see the kicked puppy like expression on her new  roommate's face. “H-How long have you been exiled for?”

“A-Around a m-month...”

“You’ve been on your own?”

“Y-Yeah,” she sighed. “I uh, w-would mainly be in wolf form when I can. It made moving around easier, well, until I-I got in a f-fight with another stray and g-got a b-broken leg...”

“You got in a fight with a dog?” Amy twirled around, bacon and spatula in hand.

“G-German Shepherd,” Clara nodded. “A-Apparently it was c-called K9 by t-the look of the nametag...”

“Recent stray then,” she commented as she quickly put the bacon on the plate she had left out. As she dished out lunch Clara fiddled nervously with her hands, waiting for the human to break the silence. Luckily enough, she didn’t have to wait long. “When was the last time you ate then?”

“Um,” Clara licked her lips. “A few days ago I-I think?”

She saw Amy pause as she put two pieces of bacon on one plate, the third piece hovering over the second plate. After a second or so she dumped the third piece on the same plate as the others. The last piece was also put on the one plate. It wasn’t until the third sausage had been put on the same plate that Clara realised what she was doing, and she was going to protest but the human twirled around with the plate and pushed it in front of her. All five sausages and four pieces of bacon was piled on the plate.

“Before you say anything,” Amy started as she got cutlery out and passed it to her before sitting back at the other end of the table. “You need food, and I’m good for now.”

“A-Are you sure?” Clara could’ve sworn her cheeks had turned pink, although, that could have just been the heat from the food that she was trying not to drool over.

“Yes, dig in,” Amy grinned. “With the knife and fork though.”

The brunette smiled appreciatively, a bit taken back by the human’s generosity, but took in what she could. She took the pieces of metal and stabbed the pork, taking a bite of it almost instantly.

“Nice?”

“Y-Yeah,” Clara smiled, swallowing the food. “T-Thank you, s-seriously, I d-don't know how to show how-”

“It’s okay Clara, a thanks  is enough,” Amy grinned, understanding what she was trying to say. “Trust me.”

“Surprisingly,” she smiled shyly, even confused by her own feelings. So much so it took her a while to come up with the words.

“Surprisingly?” 

“I do trust you.”


	4. Mrs. Finch

_“I do trust you.”_

That stunned Amy. A person – a supernatural being no less – trusts her after only knowing each other for a day. It made some sort of sense, assuming she probably didn’t trust this Missy person since turning her, or any of the Beta’s that supposedly disliked her. After all that the human had done for her since them meeting Amy realised it was probably the nicest thing that the werewolf had received, especially since being exiled from the pack after being there for so many years. 

A knock at the door broke the uncomfortable silence that had started, it made the two girls jump. 

“Saved by the bell,” Amy grinned sheepishly as she stood up. “I’ll get it, you can continue eating.” 

“O-Okay,” Clara nodded slowly. 

As the silence had occurred the brunette seemed to resent what she had just admitted to the human, which just made her feel bad. The one person she admits to trusting doesn’t respond and just looked happy for a distraction from the situation. Annoyed at her own behaviour, Amy put on a kind smile as she answered the door. 

“Hello Amy,” a rather elderly looking lady greeted. 

“Ah, Mrs. Finch,” she smiled at her neighbour. “What brings you around?” 

“I saw you come back with a dog last night,” she smiled. 

Amy froze. She remembered telling her about the blind date Mels had set up for her, and after her last blind date, had asked Mrs. Finch to keep an eye out for her, just in case. Despite her stunned reaction, Mrs. Finch carried on. 

“Which reminds me I hope that date wasn’t as bad as the last, hmm? Dear you should have had your phone on I got worried.” 

Phone? Confused, she grabbed her mobile and checked it, noticing four missed calls from her, two from Mels and one from Rory. “It appears it turned itself on silent,” she scowled. “Um, it wasn’t as bad no. He was annoying but let me leave and paid for dinner even though he knew I didn’t like him.” 

“Ah, well as long as you got home safe, that’s all that matters,” Mrs. Finch smiled. “Do you still have the dog or did you take him to the shelter?” 

“I took her this morning,” she grinned, thankful that she had been given a cover story. “Although we were thinking of checking up on her later...” 

“We?” 

“Oh yeah,” she glanced back at the kitchen and noticed that Clara had been listening by a slight tilt of her head when she said ‘we’. “A uh, new friend that’s staying here for a while. She came last night after I found the dog. They got along so well she’s missing her.” 

“New friend?” Mrs. Finch glanced behind Amy when she heard the chair scrape against the floor. 

“She has crutches,” Amy explained quickly before looking back at the kitchen. “Do you need help?” 

“N-No, I can manage,” she heard Clara call back, clearly struggling balancing on the crutches as she got up. Once she saw the elderly lady she straightened up, smiling sheepishly. “H-Hey miss...” 

“Audrey,” she greeted. “Hello, I haven’t seen you around.” 

“Yeah, I found Clara when I went out to look for, uh, E-Echo's owner,” Amy lied with a small nervous laugh. “Didn’t find them but found this one. She was out in the rain with a broken leg, so I took her here since my house was closer.” 

“Oh,” Mrs. Finch looked at Clara sympathetically. “Sorry to hear. So you’ll be staying here?” 

“Y-Yeah,” she smiled slightly, still a bit unnerved by the cover story, but it was better than the truth. 

“Well I hope you two have a good time together,” she grinned at them. “If you do bring, Echo was it? Back here I think Riley would love to meet her.” 

“Y-Yeah,” Amy stammered as she thought of the possibility of the outcome. “If she’s still there I’ll see if I can arrange something.” 

“I’ll let you two eat,” the woman waved her hand slightly as she stepped back. “It was lovely to meet you Clara, and I hope to see you around more Amy.” 

“I-It was nice to m-meet you too,” Clara shuffled slightly, preparing herself to move when she saw Amy put her hand to the door. 

“Thanks for dropping by, give Riley a biscuit for me,” the red-head grinned as she slowly closed the door, giving the brunette a chance to move as well as not seeming so desperate for her neighbour to leave. Once the door was shut she sighed, smiling apologetically at Clara. “Sorry, I kinda panicked there.” 

“Who’s Riley?” 

“Oh! That’s her border collie,” she smiled as she walked back to the kitchen. “Beautiful dog, really hyperactive too, I don’t know how she looks after him.” 

“W-Wait,” Clara stopped at the doorway, confusion evident in her puppy-like features as she tilted her head to the side. “Why did you apologise?” 

“Saying about you in your wolf form and now being called Echo,” Amy sighed. “Honestly, I don’t even know where that name came from... Wait...”

“W-What?” 

“How often are you usually in your wolf form?” she asked as she sat down, gesturing for the brunette to do the same. 

“Um,” she thought as she sat down. “I uh, I think a f-few times a month? It r-really depended on practicality and survival reasons.” 

“Well, you know you’d have to stay in human form here right?” she raised a brow, smirking slightly when she received a slow nod in return. “Unless...” 

Clara’s head snapped up. “Unless?” 

“Well, Mrs. Finch would really like a friend for Riley,” she stopped, seeing a confused yet slightly panicked expression on the brunette’s face. “Don’t worry I’m not going to pawn you off or anything. I was just thinking if you’d like to, you could be Echo from time to time, especially when your leg is healed. You’d be able to be in wolf form, and we could go for a walk with Riley at the woods nearby, so you’ll also be in nature when we can and have another canine with you for company. It would help on full moons and explain why my neighbours would possibly hear a whine or growl one night a month.”

Her proposal was met with silence. She saw Clara weighing out the pros and cons of the situation, her eyes darting from side to side as she flicked her tongue to her lips again. The silence was beginning to get unbearable, and it made the human nervous. 

“It’s okay if you don’t want to do that,” Amy interrupted her thoughts. “I just though-” 

“I’ll do it.”


	5. Bath Time

After lunch they went online to check when the next full moon was and made a note on when to have ‘Echo’ over. They had decided to go shopping later to get some pet supplies and anything they’d need for when Clara turns. Well, that was the plan... 

“I don’t mean to offend but uh,” Amy turned to the brunette, trying to find a kind way to put it. “When was the last time you had a bath or shower?” 

Clara tilted her head as she thought, a blush crept onto her cheeks. “Um... Maybe a f-few weeks ago? I uh, went in the w-water...” 

“In the water?” the human laughed. “Pretty vague, huh?” 

“Um, I think it was t-the river? It w-was rather dark...” 

“Okay,” Amy swung her legs around to the side of the chair and stood up, holding her hand out to the brunette. “Well, and again not meaning to offend, but I think you need a bath. I’ll help if you like.” 

“Um, o-okay,” Clara blushed slightly as she shifted in her seat, grabbing her crutches that were propped up against the table. She carefully stood up, wobbling a little as she stepped forward. Amy side stepped and loosely wrapped an arm around her shoulders to steady her. “T-Thanks, uh, I may just need your help.” 

“Do you remember the last time you had a human bath?” she asked as they slowly made their way up the stairs. 

“Not much of it,” the brunette shook her head. “Um, a-apparently my uh, my memories of childhood fade... S-Somehow some of us still h-have our human side. It’s m-meant to be a uh, a plus side to l-leaving your family.” 

They stopped on the stairs, standing side by side. “Hold up. In addition to turning you when you were a child, having to leave your family, as you get older you start to forget human things, as well as your family?” 

She merely nodded. “A-According to Missy-” 

“She’s a bitch.” 

Clara snickered, “Well yeah, in more ways than one.” 

They continued to make their way up the stairs to the landing, giggling to each other. Once they got to the bathroom Amy let go of Clara and grabbed a towel from the cupboard. “Okay just sit on the toilet for me.” 

“Y-You act very p-professional while doing this,” Clara quipped as she did so, setting her crutches to the side. 

“Do I?” she looked up as she turned the tap on, putting the towel on the floor. “Get it from Martha I guess.” 

“How so?” 

“She used to help me out when me or Mels would get hurt until she taught me how to do it myself, with the help of Rory of course.” 

“G-Get hurt how?” she asked carefully as she leant forward, watching the water run from the tap to the bath, almost fascinated by it. 

Amy shrugged. “Falling out of trees, shoving each other, tripping over our own shoelaces ‘cause we tied them together. Kids' stuff really.” 

“Falling out of trees?” 

The red-head stuck her hand in the water, swaying to get it to the end of the bath, and to check the temperature. “That’s what you’re taking from that?” she laughed as she turned around. “Well yeah, we climbed trees, is that unusual?” 

“N-No,” Clara shook her head. “Just uh, n-never took you for a uh, f-falling out of trees type, I g-guess?” 

“Yeah well, I was always tall enough to just jump on them,” she smiled as she leant on the bath. “Okay um, this is a weird question but do you mind if I see you naked? I mean, I know I have before but there was a lot going on and you’d have to trust me with you and water, and if you want, I can help or just leave you alone, or stay and talk... Sorry, rambling.” 

The brunette just giggled as she leant forward slightly, hands gripped on the toilet seat. “Amy, I said I trusted you yeah? And uh, y-yeah, I honestly don’t mind. You do whatever y-you want, but um, with this leg I may need help.” 

“Oh yeah,” Amy straightened up and glanced at the bath, noticing it was half full, she quickly turned the taps off. “Your cast probably can’t be submerged, so you’d have to uh, try to stick your leg out of the bath, I guess? Might be uncomfortable but it’s better than the alternative.” 

“Y-Yeah,” Clara nodded as she grabbed onto her borrowed shirt. “Just take these off yeah?” 

“Yup,” she closed the door and went to the small drawer by the sink. As she searched it, she couldn’t help but notice a few scars and recent cuts along the undressing brunette’s shoulder, going down to her forearm. Adverting her gaze, she continued to look for the shower gel. “Ah, here it is. Do you like fruit scents?” 

“Love them,” she smiled. 

“Better than a forest face mask,” Amy mused as she also got the shampoo and conditioner out. 

“Forest face mask?” Clara tilted her head. 

The human stood up with three bottles in her arms and set them down at the side of the bath. “It’s a weird goop thing that goes on your face, meant to be cleansing but it just feels like sludge. Well, the ones that don’t dry. Honestly, not that sure you’d like them.” 

“Okay, well I d-don’t think I’ll like goop on my face. Water’s enough really,” she smiled as she grabbed her jean’s waistband. “Um, c-could I have some help please?” 

“Sure,” Amy knelt down and pulled the jeans over her cast. “Okay just lift yourself up.” 

Clara placed her hands on each side of the toilet seat and pushed herself up, however shakily. When Amy looked up, she noticed a faint yet deep looking bite mark on her left shoulder and a long scar along her chest. She couldn’t help but stare for a few seconds before she caught herself, all the time wondering what happened. Unfortunately, Clara noticed her lingering stare. 

“S-Sorry,” the human muttered as she tugged on the jeans, successfully pulling them off. All she got was a nervous smile in return. “Do you uh, want help with everything or? I c-could wash your hair for you?” 

“Um, y-yeah sure, if y-you don’t m-mind,” she shifted in her seat, subconsciously holding onto her arms as she began to get cold. 

“I don’t,” Amy grinned as she stood up and wrapped an arm around the brunette to help her. 

Clara steadily got up, resting most of her weight on the human when she hobbled to the bath. She put her hands on either side of the bath and – with the help of Amy holding under her arms – gently lowered herself into the water. She stuck her casted leg out of the bath to make sure no water got on it. 

“Great!” the red-head grinned triumphantly as she backed away to get the flannel and shower gel. “Just put some of this,” she signalled to the apple scented shower gel. “On the flannel and er, y’know, get rub it on yourself and then just dunk it in the water and repeat until the gel’s gone.” 

“I think I-I remember yeah,” Clara smiled slightly as she got passed the objects. 

“Okay, cool,” Amy grabbed the shampoo and conditioner and knelt down on the floor. “To make this quicker I’ll do your hair too.” 

Clara merely nodded as she started to wash herself, whereas Amy put the shampoo and conditioner in her hand to use. She looked at the brunette, wondering the best way to wash her hair. It was easy to see the knots given how messy it was, but she had never washed anyone else’s hair before. Gently, she put the product onto the top of her head and guided it down into the rest of her hair. Once it was everywhere it needed to be, she massaged it into her scalp, earning a soft hum from the brunette as she tilted her head upwards ever so slightly onto her hands. 

‘She really is like a puppy,’ the human mused with a small smile. She stopped massaging and brushed through a few strands of hair with her fingers until she found a rather large knot, making her tug at her hair. 

Clara leapt up with a yelp that quickly changed into an animalistic snarl. Amy backed away; her hands held up in front of her to show she was not a threat. She could have sworn she saw a flash of gold appear in the cabinet mirror as the brunette shot forward. 

“S-Sorry,” Clara sighed as she slowly lowered herself back into position, moving her broken leg slightly to ease the discomfort she had created. “S-Startled me, that’s all...” 

Amy could see there was more to it, but brushed it off. They had just met after all, there was no reason for her to spill all of her tragic backstory to her. She merely relaxed and went back into her position by the bath. 

“It’s okay, startled me too,” she laughed slightly. “I-I’ll try to be gentler, you just uh, have a lot of knots.” 

“N-Not surprising,” the brunette shrugged, acting defensive again, like she had when Amy realised what she was. 

Amy didn’t say much more, guessing after that flash of vulnerability, as well as her position that arguably could be counted as vulnerable too, Clara didn’t want to talk. They continued to do their chosen tasks in silence, the only sound was water splashing into the tub. Amy was sure to not tug on her hair anymore, not wanting her to panic like she did before, or anger her in any way. There was still a lot to know about each other. 

Suddenly, Clara tensed up and stopped what she was doing, staring out into the hallway. The front door opened and closed downstairs, making Amy stare too. 

“It’s probably just Mels,” she shrugged, but the brunette started to growl. “Whoa, w-what's-” 

“T-That’s not Mels,” Clara whispered, eyes transfixed on the stairs. “P-Please, s-stay behind me.”

Before she could question it, she heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. A tall, rather lean white-haired man suddenly appeared in the doorway of the bathroom, arms folded disapprovingly as he looked between the two girls, one of whom had continued to growl. There were a few moments of his surveying them before he spoke. 

“Missy wants you back Clara,” he rolled his eyes as he strolled forward and knelt down on the floor just in front of the broken leg that still hung out of the side of the bath. “It’s a good thing I brought the car, you wouldn’t be able to walk back otherwise.” 

“I’m not going anywhere with you John,” she growled, eyes shown gold. 

“I take it this,” he pointed at Amy. “Knows? She’ll have to come with-” 

“No,” Clara growled. 

“Why didn’t Missy come by herself?” 

The two wolves turned to the human. Clara looked worried, whereas John looked rather stunned, most likely at her confidence in speaking to him. She merely stared at them expectantly. 

“Look at that,” he smirked slightly. “The human is confident. Stupid, but confident.” 

“Hey-” 

Clara yelped when John pushed down on her casted leg as he stared directly at the human. “I need at least one of you with me. If it’s Clara, it’s fine. If it’s just you, you will die.” 

Amy merely gulped. 

“J-John,” Clara winced once he let go. “I-I’ll go, just leave her alone-” 

“No Clara,” he growled, blue eyes flashing gold for a second. “She knows about us, she is a threat, so she comes with us to see what Missy decides.” 

“Then I’m n-not going,” she glared. 

Once again, the human got the courage to speak. “I-I’ll go with, just at least let her finish her bath?” 

“Now or I drag you both out,” he glared at the two girls. 

“No-” 

Before Clara could disagree any more, she shrieked as John put his weight on her broken leg again. However, this time he grabbed her by the throat and pushed her into the bath until the water covered her face. She thrashed as she tried to release his hold on her, choking on the water. 

“Clara!” Amy squeaked as she bolted forward. “L-Let her go!” 

“Come with me now, no struggling, and I will,” he tightened his grip on her leg, hearing a gargled yelp as he did so. 

“Imagine going back to your precious Missy and t-telling her your target died because you got impatient!” 

John scowled at her for a few seconds, not relinquishing his hold on the drowning brunette. 

“J-John right?” Amy asked, her reckless confidence fading every second she saw Clara under the water. “Look, just give us a bit of time to get her dry and we’ll be down, okay? P-Please.” 

He rolled his eyes and let go of the brunette. She bolted upright straight away, gasping and coughing up water, eyes glowing gold. Amy went straight to her side but was hesitant in touching her once she saw her shaking.

“Ten minutes or I drag you out, dressed or not,” John merely said before walking away, not bothering with Clara, he didn’t even look at her.

Amy however, was worried sick. “H-Hey-”

“Y-You’re coming w-with t-then,” Clara stammered as she controlled her breathing.

“Y-Yes,” the human looked down, somehow feeling ashamed of her behaviour. “B-But you w-were going to drow-”

“I-It’s fine,” she sighed, however shakily as she turned to face her. “T-Thanks, really. J-Just, when w-we g-get there... P-Please be on g-guard...”

“I-I will,” Amy nodded frantically, her nerves increasing. “I promise.”


	6. The Alpha and her Pack

The deep blue Impala pulled up to a tall building separated from the few shops that were located near it. It looked modern, which confused Amy, seeing as the pack was a secret, she expected somewhere more rundown. 

John got out of the car and quickly opened Amy’s side, making her jump. “Get out and don’t say anything.” 

Nodding, she shuffled out of the car and looked back at Clara who shifted in her seat. Unfortunately, with the stupid amount of time to get the brunette out, dry, and dressed – in a baggy red jumper with skinny jeans that barely fit since they had so little time - they hadn’t been able to get the crutches. It resulted in John grabbing her by the waist down the stairs and Amy being used as a crutch to the car, that was luckily just outside the house. 

“J-John,” Clara sighed as she dragged herself to the other side of the car. “Like I said b-before I ne- ah!” 

He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up to stand, however unbalanced she was. “Lean on your human. Now c’mon, Missy’s up here.” 

Amy quickly stood next to her when she saw her wince as she steadied herself. She put her arm over the shoulder for the brunette to lean on. John merely grumbled as he locked the car and headed towards the building. Begrudgingly, the two girls slowly started to follow him. 

Once they got in a man at the desk greeted them, however he didn’t move an inch to help them. He had a scar on his nose and seemed to know John, so Amy could only assume he was a friend or even part of the pack. She looked around and instantly noticed the contrast between the deep red carpet and white walls of the interior, as well as a bright green fire exit in the right corner of the room. She was tempted. However, she knew it would be a futile attempt considering how they hobbled into the building, following John to an elevator. He didn’t even bother to look back to check where they were before pressing the button. As they got over to him the human couldn’t help but glance at the exit door a few times. 

“Don’t even think about it,” he growled as he stepped into the elevator, surprisingly holding the doors open. “You’ll never make it with that broken leg.” 

Sighing, the two girls continued their way to him, knowing he was right. Eventually they got to the elevator, waiting anxiously as it travelled to the top floor. They didn’t dare to speak, knowing John would most likely react violently to anything. 

“Move it,” he hissed once the door opened. 

It irked Amy how impatient he was, but stayed silent as she helped Clara into the hall. John brushed past them and walked over to the third room they saw, number 55. As they got closer, they heard mutterings from inside. It made the human rather nervous and scared, knowing that there were going to be supernatural beings that assumingly wanted her dead according to John’s accusations. She felt Clara tremble as they got closer, whether that was from exertion, her recent almost drowning, or just fear from seeing the pack after being exiled, was unknown. What was known for sure was that she hadn’t looked up from the ground since getting into the car, not even at Amy. It was concerning to say the least. 

“Don’t speak unless you’re spoken to,” John glanced at them as he went to open the door. He didn’t wait for a response before he walked in, introducing them as he did. 

Clara was the first to move as she hopped forward into the room. It fell silent when they did, John closing the door behind them. Amy looked around slightly to see five people staring at them, seemingly stunned. At who was unsure. A woman grinned and approached them. 

“Nice to see you again Clara,” she smirked as she stood right in front of her. “And you’ve brought someone, how nice. Turned or human?” 

“H-Human,” Clara muttered, not taking her eyes off the floor. 

“Sorry, couldn’t hear that poppet,” the woman, assumingly Missy by the way she talked, slowly reached out for her. Her hand grazing along her shoulder where the faded bite mark was. “Could you speak up for me?” 

The brunette sighed as she shuffled, adjusting her weight on her leg and off of Amy. “She’s h-human-” 

Missy grabbed Clara by the throat and lifted her up so she was balancing on her toes, and forced to look up at her. “Sorry, what was that? She’s what? Human or yours?” 

"H-Human," she choked out as she grabbed onto her arm. 

“Must’ve misunderstood you dear, did you say human?” she smirked as Clara attempted to nod. “You should know about the no human rule.” 

Amy saw her icy blue eyes turn gold and her grip tighten on Clara’s throat. She also saw her new friend’s panicked eyes turn gold too, something that recently only seemed to happen if she felt like she was in danger or scared. 

“Y-Yes,” she just about managed to sob out as she frantically latched onto Missy’s arm. 

Despite how scared she was, it was infuriating to watch. “Yes, I-I'm human!” she blurted out, glaring at the Scottish brunette. “J-Just let her go for god sake!” 

Missy scowled at her, as if she had only now noticed her appearance, despite the reasoning for her to speak in the first place. Slowly, she lowered her arm and let go of Clara, who stumbled into her as she caught her breath. 

The human heard a few growls echo around the room from at least half of the wolves, especially from John who had decided to stand behind them once he closed the door. Carefully, she looked around the room at the other members only to see two on the right side stared worryingly at her, whereas everyone else either snarled at her or looked at her like she was food. After her little outburst she fears she may be. 

“Did you just give _me_ an order?” Missy growled as she stepped forward to her. 

“Y-You followed it,” she muttered, some of that anger from before fading as the intimidating woman stared down at her. 

“You’re either incredibly brave or really stupid,” the Alpha mused as she ran her fingers along Amy’s hair, holding it at the end as if she was examining it. “Either way you’re going to die.” 

Amy stood still, afraid to move. However, in her frozen state, she noticed Clara see where Missy’s hand was. She immediately bolted upwards and grabbed her arm, growling at her. “Don’t.” 

“You’re just incredibly stupid poppet,” Missy snatched her arm out of the brunette’s grasp. 

“Um, Ma’am?” a rather tall looking brunette woman spoke hesitantly, a shorter girl stood half in front of her. 

“What Vastra?” 

“I don’t think it’s wise to kill the human-” 

“How dare you,” John growled, but got silenced by a wave of the hand by the Alpha. 

“Why do you think that?” she asked as she turned fully to face her. 

“Well, it’s been a month since Clara was exiled,” she explained, gaining her confidence. “She’s befriended the human and she knows about us, so she must’ve been around enough for people to see her. If she dies now it’ll cause trouble for the pack since at least one person must’ve seen them get in John’s car.” 

“Unfortunately,” John groaned. “She is right.” 

Missy gave an exasperated sigh as she twirled around. “Fine! I won’t kill the human, but only for the safety of the pack. However,” she glared at Amy. “If you spill, I will make it look like a suicide.” 

“I-It’s safe with me, I-I swear,” she stammered. 

“Heartbeat’s racing,” John noted. “That could just be down to her fear though.” 

“Let’s put it down to that,” Missy grinned and then turned her attention towards Clara, who hadn’t moved from her position in front of Amy. “You, puppy, need to come with me.” 

Before anyone could question it, she grabbed hold of her arm and yanked her forward, tugging her towards the bedroom of the apartment. “Vastra look after the human until we get back, and the rest of you can either leave or do what you were doing. Nobody else bother us or the human.” 

“Yes Ma’am,” Vastra nodded as she walked towards Amy and grabbed her hand, gently tugging her along with her to the other brunette. She passed a limping, whimpering Clara as she got dragged into the bedroom, wanting nothing more than to take her away from Missy and leave. That thought was cut short by the door shutting behind them, separating Clara and Amy from each other. 

“Um, t-thanks for that,” Amy smiled slightly at her. “V-Vastra wasn’t it?” 

“Yes,” she smiled at her and let go of her wrist. “What’s your name?” 

“Oh uh, it’s Amy,” she said nervously as she glanced at the bedroom door. “Um, is C-Clara g-going to be o-okay in there?” 

“Honestly, we don’t know,” Vastra sighed. “If I hear any yelps I’ll interrupt, don’t worry.” 

Her kindness towards her and Clara interested the human, seeing how everyone else seemed to be against her. “A-Are you two friends’ with Clara?” 

“Were,” the shorter brunette said sadly as she looked down at her feet.

“Sorry?” 

“Oh,” her head snapped up and she smiled at Amy. “Sorry, hey, my name’s Jenny, I’m Vastra’s wife.” 

“N-Nice to meet you,” she smiled. “So, were?” 

“Once you’ve been exiled it’s hard to keep in touch,” Vastra smiled sadly at her. 

“Oh, right y-yeah, sorry,” she shook her head. “Long day.” 

“It’s okay,” Jenny smiled at her. 

“Um, c-can I ask you guys something?” Amy whispered, noticing the other members weren’t looking but probably could hear her. 

“Sure,” Vastra smiled kindly, sensing her apprehension. “Can’t guarantee we’ll answer it though.” 

“Um, well before Beta over there,” she motioned discreetly towards John, who stayed guarding the door. “Came to collect us I was helping Clara have a bath and I uh, I noticed a bite mark on her shoulder. Do y-you happen to know how she got it?” 

The two women laughed a little. “Don’t worry about that Amy,” Vastra started. “That’s just from when Missy turned her, everyone has one.” 

“S-She told me she was young though-” 

“Marks from a wolf’s curator don’t fade,” she clarified. “Mine’s from eyebrows over there,” she nodded towards John and showed Amy her wrist where a slightly faded bite scar was. “And Jenny still has hers.” 

“Yeah,” she agreed as she lifted her shirt slightly, revealing a bite mark on her hip. 

“T-That’s uh, a rather odd place isn’t it?” Amy raised a brow. 

“Well it was after the marriage,” Jenny giggled. 

“Again, I’m sorry about that, I got carried away,” Vastra wrapped an arm around her wife. 

“Oh,” Amy nodded slowly once realisation hit. 

“Don’t worry,” Jenny reassured both of them. “I agreed to it beforehand. It is a shame though that we spent our last night of the honeymoon in wolf form instead of going to that show-” 

“We did see the show before that,” Vastra rolled her eyes. “You just wanted to see it again.” 

Before Amy could comment on how sweet they are together, the bedroom door opened to reveal a slightly dishevelled Clara who looked down at the floor, with Missy right behind her. Once again, the room went silent as she hopped to the centre of the room. 

“John take Clara here,” Missy began as she strolled to the side of her, her hand loosely combing through her still damp hair. Amy could have sworn she saw her friend flinch whenever Missy’s hand returned to the top of her head. “And her human back. From now on nobody will have any contact with her or the human.” 

As if on cue Vastra stuffed something into Amy’s jacket pocket and grabbed her arm to bring her to the centre of the room. 

Missy stopped stroking Clara’s hair and turned to the human. “And if you do tell anyone, or even hint that she’s not human,” she glared. “I _will_ make it look like a suicide, have you got that dear?” 

Amy gulped and nodded. “I-I swear.” 

“Good,” she grinned. “John, take them away!” 

“Will do,” John opened the door and walked behind them. “C’mon, get moving.” 

Missy smirked as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “Good boy.” 

* * *

Just like the way up to the creepy hotel the car journey was silent on the way back too. Once they got to Amy’s John growled at them to get lost. Impatient as ever. Amy rolled her eyes and shuffled out of the car. She ran over to Clara’s side, opened the door, and helped her up. As soon as she closed the door John took off. 

“He’s a bit of a dick, isn’t he?” she wondered out loud as she held onto Clara and wobbled back into the house. 

Once they got into the house Amy gently put her onto the sofa and rushed upstairs to get her crutches. It was rather awkward, or at least it felt awkward to Amy, to talk after what had just happened. Clara had been silent throughout the car journey, and again not once looked at anything but the ground or her feet. 

“So uh,” she awkwardly started as she set the crutches on the sofa next to the brunette. “This is a stupid question but uh, a-are you okay? D-Do you want to t-talk about anything? You don’t have to, I understand that that could’ve been hard for you, but uh-” 

“S-Sorry,” Clara sighed, fiddling with the sleeves of the large jumper nervously, still not looking at her. “I d-didn't want you to b-be involved. B-But um, it’s been a l-long day and I’m r-really tired. Is uh, is there a-anywhere I could s-sleep?” 

“Oh, no it’s okay,” Amy reassured with a nervous smile. “There’s the spare room upstairs if you want to be alone? Um, do you need help going up or?” 

“I-I can manage,” she grabbed the crutches and shakily stood up. As she did, she finally looked up at the human with tears in her eyes. “T-Thanks, r-really for everything,” her voice cracked. “I’m s-sorry.” 

“Clara,” Amy said softly as she started to walk away. “Are y-you sure you don’t need anything?” 

“I-I’m fine,” she insisted a little too harshly as she walked off. 

“O-Okay,” the human whispered, and then called out to her from the living room. “Oh, it’s the third room on the right!” 

She didn’t get a response. Not that she had expected one anyway, but she kept still until she heard a door open and close upstairs, knowing she was somewhat safe. Amy sighed and slumped down on the sofa. It wasn’t until she heard rustling that she remembered what Vastra did, and hesitantly reached into her pocket only to find a crumpled-up piece of paper. She unfolded it to see writing, assumingly Vastra’s. 

“When did she write this?” Amy muttered to herself as she read it. 

_Meet us in two days at midnight for Clara’s things_ _-_ _V._


	7. Fish Fingers and Custard

When Amy woke up it was almost lunch time and she hadn't heard anything from Clara. Concerned, and now wondering if her small nightmare of the pack returning to the house wasn’t just a dream, she peered into the guest room on her way downstairs. She saw the brunette curled up on the bed, the duvet pushed to one side as she hugged it, but still asleep. Seeing as it had been an eventful day for her yesterday, Amy decided to let her sleep and quietly wandered down to the kitchen to get her morning coffee.

Once she got down  there, she heard a buzzing and quickly realised it was her phone that she had neglected since the bath incident. Sighing, she answered it without checking the caller ID.

“Hello?”

“Amy!” Martha called down the phone, loud enough for Amy to pull the phone away from her ear momentarily. “Why haven’t you picked up? I’m outside your house now can I come in?”

She blinked a few times before shrugging and heading towards the door. “ Sure, why not, you’re already here. Just be quiet yeah? And don’t knock.”

“Why?”

“Clara’s still asleep and I don’t want to wake her,” she sighed as she quietly unlocked the door and opened it, seeing Martha walking up to the house.

“It’s lunch time Ames,” she laughed as she hung up the phone. “Why isn’t she-”

“Bad night alright?” Amy snapped as she put her phone in her pocket. She sighed, rubbed her eyes and waved her hand for Martha to hurry up. “Sorry.”

“Bad night?” she raised a brow. “How so?”

“Nightmares and some uh,” she paused, unsure of what to say. She quickly thought back to their cover story. “F-Family thing...”

“Family?”

“It’s not my place to say,” Amy waved her hand dismissively as she walked over to the kitchen, gesturing for her friend to follow.

“Amy if there’s any trouble-”

“No, nothing like that,” she shook her head. Martha sat down, putting her phone on the table. “Coffee or tea?”

“If you’re-”

“Martha I’m fine,” she insisted as she filled the kettle up. “Trust me okay?”

“Fish fingers and custard?”

Amy paused. They had used those words between their close friend group since Matt had it, using it as a ‘trust me and ask no questions’ or rather a change the topic phrasing. Since they had agreed that that was their secret code for personal stuff, they had only used it twice. Once when Matt said it to Amy when she got worried about his black eye, and the other time it was Amy saying it to him when he questioned her one night when she came to his crying after a bad date.

“Yeah, fish fingers and custard.”

Martha sighed. “Okay. I’ll keep it down and be quiet.”

“Thank you,” Amy sighed as she put the kettle on. “Tea or coffee?”

“Nah, I had one this morning,” she smiled. “Oh, Rory and I have the rest of the day off and he said he was going to try and pop over after Matts, said he wanted to help out.”

“Help out?”

“With Clara,” she pointed upstairs.

“Oh, there’s no need,” Amy shook her head as she grabbed a mug from the cupboard, wincing when the kettle made a high pitch noise. “Actually, it’s probably better if we were left alone. She probably wants some time to herself-”

“Amy, you’ve got a stranger in your house,” Martha interrupted with a hint of irritation. “Do you know anything about her? Where she came from?”

“I know enough,” she muttered as she poured the water into the kettle.

“Amy,” her friend said sternly.

“Fine,” Amy sighed, knowing she wasn’t going to let this one go. Maybe she used the phrase too early. “I know her name-”

“I know the basics. Did you even know her surname before the hospital?”

“No,” she admitted timidly as she put two tablespoons of coffee into the boiling hot water, and began to stir.

“Do you know how she got the broken leg?”

“Yes actually.”

“How did she do it?”

“She got in a fight-”

“Can you really see her in a fight?”

“It was with her family okay?” Amy twirled around, annoyed at Martha’s interrogation. She knew practically nothing about Clara, not as much as Amy did, despite that not being much. Sighing, she sat down in the seat opposite her friend, coffee mug in hand.

“And you said her family came over?” Martha raised a brow.

“No, I didn’t,” she took a sip of her drink. “I said there was something to do with her family. Fish fingers and  custard, yeah?”

“Yes, you’re right,” her friend sighed. “I’m just... Concerned for your safety okay? Only you trust this person enough to let her live in your home-”

“Until her leg gets better-”

“What if something happened? We don’t know this girl Amy, for all we know she could have planned this and rob you or something, some sort of scheme. Maybe even resulting in you getting hurt.”

Amy laughed, “I think you’ve been watching too many shows.”

Martha rolled her eyes, “I’m just saying you need to be careful with her okay? She is still a stranger, especially to us, and broken leg or not, you could still get hurt. Just be careful okay?”

“Trust  me Martha you don’t need to worry about,” Amy paused when she noticed something behind her friend, something in the door way. She looked up to see a brunette leaning on the doorway, one crutch in her opposite hand. Softly, she addressed her, unsure of how much she had heard. “Clara.”

Martha turned around quickly, an apologetic smile on her face. “Clara, nice to see you’re up. How’s your-”

“I-I won’t hurt her,” she said timidly, barely looking at them. “I p-promise.”

“Sorry,” Martha sighed. “Just looking out for my friend, y’know?”

“I u-understand,” Clara nodded, a small smile on her face as she pushed herself off the door and shakily wobbled over to a chair. Amy noticed she only had one crutch with her, and that she was becoming more and more hesitant in walking towards the chair. It made sense considering how nervous she got around them, and how she wasn’t used to being in the house that she felt strange just sitting down without permission. Maybe it was part of her pack mentality, not doing anything without permission, especially in someone else’s home.

“Here,  have a seat,” Amy gestured as she stood up and pulled a chair out. She hoped it was enough to ease Clara’s mind yet not demanding or to arouse the suspicion of her human friend.

“T-Thanks,” she smiled slightly as she sat down, putting the crutch against the table.

“Do you want anything? Tea, coffee, water?”

“Um, n-no thanks.”

“Food?” Amy asked desperately. “We  kinda missed lunch and you didn’t eat much yesterday.”

“I-I’m fine,” Clara glanced up at her with a sad smile.

Before she could persist anymore Martha’s phone buzzed. She scrambled for it. “Hey- Oh Donna, hey. Date time? Okay, I’ll be there in five.”

“Donna’s got a date?” Amy sat down, admitting  defeat for now.

“Yeah,” Martha stood up and pocketed her phone. “Sorry  gotta go, we made an  arrangement for-”

“You to interrupt as a date?”

“Something like that,” she mocked innocence as she pushed the chair in. She flashed Amy a cheeky smile before heading towards the door. “Bye Ames, I’ll make sure to tell Rory. Oh, and I hope your leg gets better Clara.”

“T-Thanks,” she muttered, avoiding eye contact with her.

“See  ya later Jones, go save Donna,” Amy waved as she took another sip of her coffee. Martha waved back and headed out the door. As soon as it closed again and she knew her friend had left, Amy turned to Clara, wanting to say something but unsure of what. “Sorry about her, she’s just-”

“S-She has a point,” Clara sighed and turned her full attention to the red-head. “Y-You don’t know everything a-about me, and you’ve l-let me stay in your home. I c-could be a danger to you, and I a-am. W-With Missy still out there...”

“That’s Missy,” Amy sighed, but couldn’t help but shiver at the memory of last night, her dream, how close she really was to death. “Y-You had a long day Clara-”

“If you h-hadn't found out about me,” she looked up at her, fists clenched on the table. “O-Or if I was human, w-would you still be making up e-excuses for me to stay, t-to be so kind and considerate. Or would y-you have sent me somewhere else?”

She gulped. It was a surprisingly loaded question, one that she was too tired to figure out how to answer, and Clara knew it. She wanted honesty, not some calculated right way to say something to ease her mind. 

“I-I think I would have. It would depend on the situation but uh,” she glanced away, sure that her cheeks had turned pink. “Y-Yeah, y-you would have still stayed.”

“T-Thanks,” Clara smiled slightly, clearly hadn’t expected that reaction. From what Amy saw with the pack she wasn’t used to generally nice people. “B-But your friend’s s-still right...”

“ So what if she’s right?” the red-head shrugged, earning a confused head tilt from her guest. “I think if you wanted me dead you or even Missy would have done it by now.”

“I-I guess,” she sighed.

“Besides, you don’t know anything about me either-”

“I-I’ll answer any question.”

“What?” Amy asked in disbelief. Clara had been so closed off, especially after last night. Did she really hear everything Martha had said? Did it get to her so much?

“A-Anything, n-no matter how personal,” she nodded sternly, well, as sternly as she could with her nervous energy. “I-I’ll try my best to answer.”

“Hmm,” she thought about it for a bit, eerie silence hung in the air. It made both of them uncomfortable. Clara stared up at her expectantly, whereas Amy mulled over her options silently. A moment later she looked up at the brunette. “Only if you ask me questions too, it’s only fair.”

“O-Okay-”

“And it doesn’t matter how personal. Deal?”

There was a second or so of hesitation before she nodded. “Deal.”


	8. It's Personal

There was silence. Neither of them sure on where to start. Amy merely drank her coffee, hoping the caffeine will boost her confidence to ask first, but she was just prolonging the inevitable. 

“So uh,” Amy started, shifting in her seat uncomfortably. “Who wants to go first?” 

Clara sighed, ducking her head for a moment before looking at the human. “Y-You can, it’ll give me t-time to think of my question...” 

“Fair enough,” she nodded, still unsure of what to ask. She had countless questions but didn’t want to start with a too personal one, despite their agreement. “Um, ah, okay, got one. When you agreed to come over to mine even though you were in wolf form, why didn’t you just sleep downstairs? You could have left and avoided being caught.” 

“Uh, w-well,” Clara shifted in her seat, wincing when her leg hit the chair leg. “I was r-really tired and I don’t know, j-just followed what you said. G-Guess I’m used to it. I d-did plan to leave before you woke up b-but you woke up before me...” 

“Also, you didn’t have any clothes, so it would have been hard to move around,” Amy laughed awkwardly. “Your turn, I guess.” 

“Um y-yeah, that didn’t actually occur to me,” she blushed slightly as she looked away from the red-head. A moment later she glanced up at her, a curious facial expression as she tilted her head to the side. “H-How old are you?” 

“Twenty-two,” the human smiled, a little relieved at the simple question. “You’re that yeah?” 

Clara merely nodded. “Y-Your turn.” 

“Do you uh, have any siblings?” 

“N-No, only child,” she shifted in her seat again. “Um, w-what about you?” 

“Only child too,” Amy smiled, enjoying knowing the small things. The innocent things. Sadly, she knew it wouldn’t last. “Your turn.” 

“T-That wasn’t one?” she tilted her head. 

“No,” the red-head giggled at her adorableness. “That was just piggy-backing off of mine, doesn’t count.” 

“Oh, okay,” Clara cleared her throat. “Um, c-could I have some water p-please?” 

“Yeah sure,” Amy got up and did her a glass of water quickly, thankful that she had some sort of distraction as she prepared herself for the question. “Remember, it can be just as personal as your ones.” 

“T-Thanks,” she grabbed the drink and drank half of the glass. “Um... W-Where are your parents?” 

That was a rather personal question, but Amy couldn’t blame her curiosity. Especially since she lived in this big house on her own at a young age. “They uh, they died a while back. I w-was seven.” 

“S-Sorry-” 

“It’s alright,” Amy laughed slightly, seeing the panic on the brunette’s face. “I can talk about it now, plus, it’s all a part of the game, right?” 

“Game?” she tilted her head. 

“I dunno, this is kinda like an awkward twenty questions game,” the human laughed nervously as she waved her hand dismissively. “I guess it’s my go?” 

Clara merely nodded as she took another gulp of water. 

“Okay, uh, so since you were young, did you leave your family for the pack when you got bit or were you allowed to stay with them?” 

She nearly choked on her drink. “Um,” she gulped, avoiding eye contact. “T-They d-died too...” 

“Sorry to hear,” Amy gave an apologetic look. She wanted to hug her but didn’t know how she’d react, given how she was handled last night. “Um, sorry to ask but uh, was it...?” 

Clara nodded, knowing who she meant. “W-When she took me it w-was a full m-moon... M-My first one,” she had started to tremble, staring down at her hands. “P-Parent’s found out... S-She killed t-them a-along w-with John... M-Made s-sure I s-saw everything... To see h-how serious t-the secret was...” 

Despite her earlier conclusion of not touching her, Amy couldn’t help but get up from her chair and hug her. Carefully, she wrapped her arms around her shoulders, and placed her head lightly on her left shoulder, some of her hair falling in front of her face. She felt Clara tense up at the contact, but she eased into it a moment later, leaning into the human with her hands on her forearms. It seemed that was the only way she could reciprocate the hug from that position. 

“Sorry,” Amy muttered. “Y-You seemed like you needed one...” 

“It’s o-okay,” Clara smiled slightly, tears in her eyes. “T-Thanks, I r-really appreciate it.” 

“Um, how long do you want this to last?” 

“H-How long do they usually l-last?” 

“Good question,” the red-head laughed slightly. “As long as someone needs it, I guess?” 

“U-Until you’ve answered the next q-question?” the brunette asked timidly. 

“Sure,” Amy grinned, happy with that answer. “Ask away.” 

“Um... H-How did you and Martha meet?” 

“In secondary school. We were playing Capture the Flag in PE and I tripped over my own feet,” she laughed slightly at her own clumsiness back then. “She was the only one who noticed that I was hurt, so she rushed over to see what was wrong. She always wanted to be a doctor so she knew what it was, turned out I had sprained my ankle. The PE teacher didn’t see what had happened so she just told us to get up, but Martha had the guts to yell at her about the ankle and took me to the nurse’s office. If it weren’t for her, I’d probably would have just kept playing and injured it even more.” 

“Whoa...” 

“Yeah, a real knight in shining armour moment huh,” Amy giggled as she pulled back from the hug slowly, giving Clara enough time to pull back if she wanted it to last longer. She slowly let go of her as she went to stand, seeming unsure of whether she wanted it to last longer or not. “You okay?” 

“Y-Yeah, t-thanks,” Clara flashed her a smile. “Y-Your turn.” 

“Right,” the human hummed in thought as she sat down in her seat. “Oh, here’s one. But uh, you seriously don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to, just know that I ask this because... Well I’m concerned but also a very curious person in general...” 

“I said I’d answer a-anything Amy-” 

“Yeah, b-but I don’t wa-” 

“J-Just ask,” Clara insisted, however timidly. 

“Okay,” Amy gulped, unsure on where to start. “Um, l-last night I talked to Vastra and Jenny while y-you were in the bedroom... And uh, t-they mentioned about how a mark from a curator never fades, a-and showed me their bitemarks. I-I was wondering if any of those other scars on y-you are f-from Missy...” 

She saw Clara tense up once she mentioned the bitemarks, and must’ve known Amy would ask that eventually. Sighing shakily, she nodded. She slowly held her arm out, letting the red jumper sleeve ride up her arm slightly to show her wrist, an almost healed deep horizontal scar on the side with rather severe looking bruise around it. 

“T-To answer your n-next question,” she glanced up at her. “S-She did that last night. S-Sound proof r-room...” 

“Clara,” Amy whispered softly, tears in her eyes. “I-I’m sorry, I w-wish I could’ve done something...” 

“If y-you tried s-she would h-have killed you.” 

“D-Did she do that when you w-were in the pack?” she asked carefully, tears now threatening to spill. 

“Y-Yes...” 

Amy thought back to the panicked expression on Clara’s face when she pulled at a knot, how the brunette defended her when she saw Missy’s hand in her own hair, and how Clara had flinched when Missy stroked her hair when they came out of the room. Was she really that abusive to pack members? Or, even worst, just towards Clara? 

“Y-Your r-reaction in the bath last night, w-when I tugged on your h-hair?” 

Clara nodded as she shakily grabbed the almost empty glass of water and downed it. “S-She would a-always pull at my hair, s-sometimes she’d rip it out if s-she was mad... I-It's why I k-keep it s-short now...” 

“Y-You used to have l-longer hair?” there was a catch in Amy’s throat as she tried not to cry. It was silly, crying at someone else’s troubled past. She had to be strong for Clara. 

“Y-Yeah, V-Vastra h-helped me k-keep it s-short...” 

She noticed Clara herself was trying not to cry, and again she had another instinct to hug her. “D-Do you want another hug?” 

“I-If that’s okay?” she asked between sobs, unable to keep herself from crying. 

As soon as she noticed Amy rushed over and hugged her from the side. “It’s always okay Clara,” she said in a hush tone as she lightly stroked her arm, figuring her hair was a wrong choice. 

Before Clara could thank her, or calm down enough to stop sniffling, there was a loud knock at the door. It made them both jump and stare at the kitchen doorway, both unwilling to pull away from the hug, both of them unsure of who it was. 

The knocking only got louder. 


	9. A Little Outing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Implied self-harm.

"Yo Amy! You in?” 

Amy sighed as she relaxed, leaving the brunette’s side. “It’s just Mels, don’t worry.” 

"Amy!” she shouted from behind the door. 

“It’s unlocked you dummy!” she called back, sighing before she turned to Clara. “Want some more water?” 

“Um, y-yeah sure,” Clara smiled and passed her the glass. “Thanks...” 

“Why didn’t you answer? Hiding from me?” 

Amy rolled her eyes once she heard her friend walk in. “No, I was helping Clara down the stairs-” 

“Clara?” Mels shut the door and then sighed before heading to the kitchen. “Amy, I know you’ve wanted a dog since you were little but if...” 

She paused when she saw the brunette sitting at the table, an amused look on her face, and Amy by the sink getting a glass of water. “Okay, who’s this?” 

“Does Clara really sound like a dog name to you?” Amy laughed as she gave the glass to the brunette who had successfully stopped crying before her friend had walked in. “And this is Clara, she’s staying with me until her leg heals.” 

“Odd choice of words, but okay,” Mels shrugged as she sat down on the chair in front of her. She leant forward holding her hand out. “Nice to meet you, I’m Melody, Mels for short, one of Amy’s best friends.” 

Clara looked at the hand for a moment before reaching to shake it. “N-Nice to meet you too.” 

“So, you came here why?” Amy asked as she sat back in her seat. 

“Oh right, shopping.” 

“Shopping? I don’t think you’ll find things for sale in my house-” 

“Not here stupid,” she rolled her eyes at her friend’s snarky comment. “A little shopping trip. Clara can come too, if she wants.” 

“Hmm,” Amy glanced at Clara, still in her red jumper from yesterday. “It would be good to get you some clothes, I mean, you can’t wear mine all the time, they’re too big.” 

“True,” Mels smirked as she looked at the brunette. “The jumper looks good on you tho, might wanna steal it.” 

“Melody,” the red-head warned when she saw a confused look on her new friend, not understanding the joke. She earned an eye roll and shrug in response. “Where do you wanna go shopping then?” 

“Just around,” she shrugged with her arms crossed. “See what’s out there.” 

“Okay, Clara what do you think?” 

“Um,” she straightened up, thinking a few moments. “I-I don’t have any-” 

“Money?” Amy smirked slightly when the brunette nodded. “Didn’t expect you to silly, I’ll pay. Oh, we need food.” 

“You two haven’t eaten yet?” Mels laughed as she pointed between the two. “What happened there Ames? You never miss a meal.” 

“Woke up around an hour ago, that’s what happened,” she groaned. “Clara here hasn’t eaten since this time yesterday.” 

Clara looked up at her with a small glare, whereas Mels laughed. “Ooh, she called you out!” 

“C-Called me out?” the smaller brunette tilted her head. 

“You serious?” she asked, her laughter ceased immediately. “You don’t know what that means?” 

“I don’t, n-no,” Clara turned to Amy for help. “S-Should I?” 

“Nah, it’s okay,” the red-head laughed as she waved her hand dismissively, hoping that her best friend’s judgement on her lack of understanding a term hadn’t scared her. “It uh, it basically means... How would you explain?” 

“She outed you basically,” Mels unhelpfully explained. 

“O-Outed me?” 

Amy noticed the slightly panicked look on her face as she straightened up. Given her seemingly only friends in the pack were married and not heterosexual, she guessed she knew that term. She probably had some sort of repercussions from outing herself to some authority figure. The human saw that Mels was going to say something, so she jumped in. 

“No, no, not like that,” she reassured, hoping she would calm down if there were no accusations. It worked. “Basically, it’s uh, well I was just saying something that you have done and it has worried me slightly since you seem to not be eating. It’s an expression, I guess? Or term... Y’know what? Don’t take my word for it I’m not caught up on this stuff.” 

Despite Clara visibly being less tense that she had been when ‘outing’ came up, she now seemed even more confused than before. “I’m n-not sure I understand...” 

“Let’s just leave it,” Mels interrupted, waving her hand dismissively. “So, since you haven’t eaten, why don’t we eat out?” 

“I’m cool with that,” Amy grinned, getting hungry herself. She saw the rather clueless brunette look confused and was about to question something, but she cut her off, knowing what would happen if she had asked Mels what she meant. “C’mon Clara, I’ll help you get up the stairs, we can pick out an outfit for now, yeah?” 

“Um, s-sure,” she smiled slightly as she pushed herself back, making the chair slide along the tiled floor. 

“I’ll wait down here,” Mels said as she got up and grabbed a glass from the cupboard. 

Amy merely nodded as she helped Clara hobble over to her room. It took a while since she had injured her leg more by being dragged places last night, so she tried not to put any weight on it. Unfortunately, that took time, and resulted in Amy having to keep her arm around her back to stop her from falling backwards. Once they had gotten the to her room Clara sat down on the bed, whereas Amy closed and locked the door. 

“Ash away,” she sighed as she twirled around to face the brunette. 

“E-Eat out?” 

“It means having a meal, like at a restaurant or something. Or bringing food out and having some sort of picnic I guess,” she looked away as she thought for a second. “You don’t have a problem eating in front of people, do you?” 

“Um, n-no, I don’t, not entirely anyway-” 

“Do you know how to use a knife and fork in public?” 

“I-I think so,” Clara frowned. “Y-You saw me eat yesterday.” 

“I was too focused on trying to respond to your ‘I trust you’ thing,” Amy admitted sheepishly as she sat down next to the brunette. “And I just wanted to make sure.” 

“W-Was it really that hard?” 

“No, not that hard, it just stunned me that’s all. I mean, we did just meet,” she paused as she calculated, realisation dawning on her. “Damn, a lot has happened in two days hasn’t it?” 

Clara shifted in her seat. “Y-Yeah, it has...” 

“Anyway,” Amy clapped as she stood up. “Let's get you some clothes and food ey?” 

Smiling, the brunette nodded. “Yeah.”

* * *

After two hours of getting ready – that lead to Clara being in another oversized jumper and small leggings with some black pumps – finding and agreeing to somewhere to eat – that ended up being KFC – and heading deeper into town, Amy and Clara just wanted to sleep. Amy complained about how long it took to get to Henrik’s after KFC, and to get a parking space. Luckily, Henrik’s was relatively easy to navigate through, and Mels had been there enough times she knew the place like the back of her hand. 

“You seem like a plaid girl,” she grinned as she pointed at Clara and motioned towards the long-sleeved shirts rack, all in different designs and colours. “Am I wrong?” 

Clara looked at the array of patterns and shirts, looking a bit overwhelmed by the selection. “I don’t think y-you're wrong, no.” 

“Pick whichever you like,” Amy grinned as she picked herself a grey one. “Oh, do you know your size?” 

“About two or three sizes down from you,” Mels quipped. She just got met with a glare. “Okay, if you want me, I’ll be at the jackets.” 

Rolling her eyes, the red-head turned her attention back to Clara. “If we can’t guess we could ask Rose.” 

“R-Rose?” 

“She works here, a friend of mine, she’ll help,” Amy explained as she looked around. “You stay here and I’ll go find her? It’ll make this whole trying on the clothes ordeal go faster.” 

“Y-Yup, I’ll s-stay here,” Clara nodded as she looked down at the shirts, feeling the fabric of them.

Unsurprisingly, it didn’t take the red-head long to locate Rose. She saw her talking to Mels, most likely about the red and blue leather jackets that were in front of them. 

“Oh, hey Ames,” Rose greeted once she saw her approach them. “Heard you have a new friend?” 

“Seems more than a friend to me,” Mels smirked. 

“She- She is just a friend Mels,” Amy glared at her, yet rather flustered at her insinuation. “A-Anyway, Rose, when you’re free can you help out with clothes sizes? Clara’s been wearing my old clothes but they’re still too big for her.” 

“Sure,” she grinned. “I’m free now, let me just get some tape and stuff from the desk.” 

“Okay, cheers,” the red-head nodded. “We’re by the plaid stuff.” 

“Gotcha.” 

When Amy got back to Clara she saw her making her way through the rack, her eyes darting back to a dark red and black one. She seemed unsure to pick any. 

“It doesn’t matter about the price y’know,” the human grinned as she stood next to her, grabbing the red and black shirt. “Fancy this one?” 

“Y-You sure?” 

“Positive.” 

“Y-Yeah, that one does look g-good,” she smiled slightly, yet still had a hint of uncertainty and guilt in her features as she looked at the clothes. 

“Rose should be here soon to measure you-” 

“M-Measure me?” Clara questioned, suddenly on alert. 

“Yeah,” Amy looked at her confused, unsure of why that had struck a nerve. When the brunette lightly placed a hand on her shoulder self-consciously it clicked. “Oh, your... Uh, yeah, s-sorry, I completely forgot.... Um...” 

“S-She won’t ask q-questions, will she?” 

“Afraid so,” the human sighed as she looked around for the blonde, who had just appeared from the front desk and walked towards them. “Um, I-I'll think of something...”

“Hey,” Rose greeted them. “You’re Clara I assume?”

“Y-Yeah,” she smiled nervously with a small wave.

“Nice to meet you I’m Rose, one of Amy’s friends. According to Mels you don’t have any clothes and don’t know your size?”

“I-I don’t n-no...”

“ Hey Rose, about measuring,” Amy said in hushed tones and stepped closer to the blonde before whispering her excuse to her.

“Oh,” Rose’s eyes widened slightly before she passed the measuring tape to her. “Yes of course, I understand. I’ll have to wait outside though, okay?”

“Yes, thank you,” the red-head grinned at her before turning her attention to Clara. “Found any other shirts so far?”

Clara eyed the measuring tape in her hands warily, but shook her head anyway. Confused yet concerned Amy pocketed the tape and flicked through the other side of the rack. “Try finding some clothes first in a lower size than my stuff, maybe one size to start off with?”

“O-Okay,” she nodded shyly and got back to looking at shirts. 

A few minutes later they walked up to the changing room with four shirts in Amy’s arms. Two plaid ones, one denim one, and one white and navy spotted shirt. They got in and closed the door, with Rose standing outside like she said she had to do.

“W-What d-did you say to her?” Clara asked in a hushed tone as she put the crutches against the wall.

“Um, mentioned scars,” Amy responded in a whisper. “More in the self-inflicted way... S-Sorry, it was all I could think of and I knew Rose would understand that.”

“Oh... O-Okay-”

“Seriously, sorry-”

“I-It’s okay,” Clara smiled slightly as she leaned against the wall. “It’s h-half true anyway-”

“What-”

“C-Can we please l-leave this u-until we’re in a s-safe p-place?” the brunette pleaded.

“Y-Yeah, sure,” Amy shook her head. “Sorry, yeah. Um, do you need help stripping, I guess?”

“P-Please...”


	10. Meeting in the Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mentions of depression and eating disorder (kinda)

The following night Amy helped Clara put her clothes up in the guest’s wardrobe and helped her get changed into one of her outfits – the black and red plaid shirt with ripped jeans. It had taken a while but they finally got out of Henrik’s - thanks to the help of Rose and Mels saying what suits Clara and what doesn’t - with five outfits. Unfortunately, Amy knew they wouldn’t last long, but they were both tired from the whole ordeal, and had agreed to get more once her cast was off. 

They sat in the kitchen, contemplating what to have for dinner. Clara claimed she wasn’t hungry but tried to push for Amy to eat, knowing how humans need at least three meals a day. She did too. However, Amy noticed she had been eating less and less. Maybe she got used to eating so little when she was exiled? Maybe they didn’t eat much in the pack? Maybe Missy didn’t let her eat at times. There were so many unanswered questions about the pack dynamic they had, but Amy refrained from bombarding her with questions. 

Thinking about the pack, Amy remembered what Vastra had done. “Oh, Vastra gave me... Where is it?” 

“Gave you what?” Clara straightened up, confusion and worry evident in her features. 

“A note to meet in two days, to pick your stuff up,” she got up and searched for the note. Luckily, it was only on the kitchen counter table next to her jacket. “Ah, here it is.” 

She passed it to the brunette, who cautiously took and read it. “T-They aren’t supposed to s-see me...” 

“Oh, ‘cause of the whole exile thing?” Amy asked as she sat down. 

“Y-Yeah, no contact with the pack,” Clara pushed the paper away from her, as if merely touching it could be dangerous. “I don’t th-” 

“What if I meet them?” 

“What?” 

“Well, you stay here and I go meet them. You won’t be breaking any rules and we can be on the phone with each other the whole time? To ease each other's mind?” 

“A-Are you sure?” Clara tilted her head. 

“Yeah,” she grinned. “You’ll have to tell me where to meet them though, she didn’t give a location.” 

“We uh, set up locations when we g-got to them... I-In case we g-got separated... O-Or M-Missy kicked me o-out...” 

“You’ve been here before? The whole pack?” 

“Y-Yeah,” the brunette nodded slowly. “W-We do travel s-sometimes...” 

“So you know where to meet them?” Amy raised a brow as she got her mobile out, checking that she had the house phone number from when Aunt Sharon used to live there. 

“Y-Yeah, um, it w-was behind... Um... I think the c-corner shop n-not far from here.” 

“Oh, cool that it’s close.” 

“W-What are you d-doing?” she motioned to the red-head's phone. 

“Oh, just making sure I have the house phone’s number.... And I do,” she turned to the brunette. “Okay, I’ll phone when I’m out the house and if you need to you can talk to them on the phone. If anyone is watching I doubt they can get mad at you if they decide they want to talk to you.” 

“G-Good idea,” Clara smiled slightly. “Um, y-you are a-aware it’s tonight yeah?” 

“Tonight?” Amy raised a brow as she picked up and looked at the piece of paper. “It says two days?” 

“F-From yesterday, it’s uh, kinda a um,” she paused as she thought of how to phrase it. “A s-safety thing, I guess? T-To trick any o-onlookers?” 

“Oh, okay. Clever,” Amy pocketed the paper. “Do you know a time?” 

“I’d s-say uh,” the brunette counted on her fingers. “H-Half ten?” 

“You don’t sound so sure?” 

“It’s b-been t-twelve years since I turned... T-This system was to p-protect me when I w-was young too, s-so Vastra thought it w-would be g-good to do t-that. Um... So twelve o’clock... Midnight, and uh, t-two days w-which is take away t-two hours... Y-Yeah, half ten.” 

“What’s the half for?” Amy raised a brow, intrigued by their system. 

“A-Always add half an hour, s-since I was t-technically t-ten and a h-half w-when I was turned,” she explained with a slight smile. 

“Complicated,” the human sighed. “Clever, very clever, but complicated.” 

“Y-Yeah,” she smiled sheepishly. 

“Will both of them be there? So I know who I’m looking for?” 

“Y-Yeah, should be both.” 

“Okay,” Amy made a mental note to keep an eye out on both of them in the dark, most likely with glowing eyes. “Now, food.” 

Clara tensed up slightly as the red-head stood up and headed towards the freezer. Sighing, she said timidly. “I-I’m good, r-really.” 

“You need to have food too-” 

“I’m just n-not-” 

“You need to have dinner Clara!” Amy twirled around, her voice raised slightly, frustration evident in her speech and expression. She rolled her eyes and muttered; “honestly, I’m surprised you’re not just bone.” 

Clara froze, taken back by her sudden change in tone. She whimpered, cowering under her gaze, unsure of where else to look. Amy tensed up; her eyes wide as she realised what she had just said. Her frustration subsiding, she looked over the small form of her new friend, hating how she had made her scared of her enough to cower. Of course, her submissiveness could have just been how she was to anyone since she got turned, especially someone who had looked after her like Amy had. Unfortunately, she didn’t know which reason she wanted for the brunette cowering from her, not daring to look up. 

“S-Sorry, I didn’t,” Amy started softly to ease any of the doubts or fears she had caused for the girl. “I-It’s... It’s f-frustrating okay? I don’t w-want you to starve b-but you need to... I k-know it must be hard for you to eat, especially when you just don’t feel like eating but... I’m s-sorry...” 

A small whine escaped Clara’s lips before she spoke, yet didn’t dare look up. “S-Sorry I... I do-” 

“W-Why are you apologising? I snapped at you-” 

“I-I did s-something to make y-you s-snap at me-” 

“You can’t... P-Please look at me,” Amy pleaded, tears in her eyes. It had upset her to know that something must have been programmed into Clara’s head that any reason she got scolded was her fault, even if it wasn’t. It also upset her that she had triggered it. After a moment’s hesitation, Clara looked up at her slightly. “I-It wasn’t your fault that I snapped at you, okay? I should h-have controlled my emotions better, and knowing what I do of you, should have t-taken into consideration of why you’re barely eating.”

Clara looked like she wanted to speak but thought against it. It hurt to see her like that. 

“Y-You can s-speak if you want to,” Amy said softly as she cautiously sat down next to her, noticing the brunette watching her every movement. “P-Please?” 

“Um... T-Thank you,” she started, darting her tongue to her lips again. “F-For uh, n-not blaming me a-and hurting m-me... F-For everything r-really, and f-for um, c-caring for my h-health...” 

“Trust me, I would never hurt you, especially intentionally. I just couldn’t do that to you,” Amy admitted, tears more prominent and threatening to shed. “As for this food thing, if you’re used to eating once a day or something, then we can go slow? I-I know you’re not human but I bet you still need to eat at least two meals a day.” 

“I p-probably do yeah,” Clara nodded. “I a-am just used to h-having one, if any.”

“I-I’ll go slow,” she sighed, wanting nothing else than wanting to hug the brunette. Knowing she shouldn’t, she glanced at the clock. “Well it’s ten-twenty. I-I better get going.” 

“O-Okay,” she smiled slightly. “Um, h-how do you answer your phone?” 

“Oh,” Amy stood up and grabbed the house phone from the counter. She passed it to her and pointed at the green button. “Press that once when you hear a ring and hold the top part to your ear and bottom part to your mouth so we can hear each other.” 

“O-Okay,” she nodded as she held onto the phone, examining it. 

“I’ll get chips on the way back, you can share with me,” the red-head grabbed her leather jacket from the counter and shoved it on, putting her purse in her pocket. “If you eat. Um, I’ll be back half an hour tops.” 

“P-Please be careful.”

“Will do,” she grinned as she grabbed her mobile from the table and headed towards the door. “Be right back!” 

She locked the door behind her, just in case Missy or anyone else had been lurking around. It was unlikely, but still a possibility. She glanced around in the dark, hoping nobody, not even Mrs. Finch, would see her. Happy that nobody was around, she sighed before walking out of her front garden. 

On the way to meet Vastra and Jenny Amy noticed a tall figure across the road, heading the opposite direction to her. Curiosity, and frankly, paranoia, getting the better of her, she looked at the person walking down the path, noticing he wore a high-vis band on his wrist, and had a red cap on. She paused for a second as she looked over him, only then realising who it was. Thankfully, she knew they were human. Unfortunately, she knew who it was, knew he didn’t live in the neighbourhood, and that he was drunk by his struggle in walking straight. She froze for a second, unsure of what to do. It dawned on her that she was in no danger, and that he hadn’t even noticed she was there, so she sighed, annoyed at herself for being scared. This action however caught the attention of the drunk guy and made him look over at her. A goofy smirk and a slurred demand like cat call later Amy bolted down the street to the corner shop, knowing he was too drunk to follow, and that she’d be safe if he did. 

“F-Fuck,” she muttered to herself as she caught her breathe, leaning just outside the corner shop. Luckily, nobody was there, and the owner was in the back. Concentrating on calming her breathing, she gripped onto her phone, just now remembering what she had to do. 

“Amy?” 

She froze. Slowly, she analysed the voice that spoke to her so softly, and realised it was a female voice. Relaxing, she turned to the voice only to see Jenny staring at her with gold eyes, concern evident in her features. 

“Are you okay?” she asked as she cautiously approached her. 

“Oh, J-Jenny yeah? H-Hey,” Amy smiled at her as she straightened up. 

“Where’s Clara?” Vastra asked as she appeared from the shadows behind her wife. 

“Yeah, uh, she didn’t want to put you in danger, something about rules. Um, one sec,” the human unlocked her mobile and rung her house. “Said I’ll call her, make sure I’m saf- Clara hey. Here with Vastr- Y-Yeah, I’m okay. Sorry, got distracted.” 

“Distracted?” Jenny tilted her head. 

Attempting to be subtle, Amy glanced around. “Uh, so what’s this stuff?”

“Right, yes,” Vastra presented a small cardboard box from by her feet. “Sadly, we couldn’t find Oswin.” 

“Oswin?” 

Amy couldn’t help but stifle a laugh when she heard Clara repeat ‘no’ down the phone once she heard that. 

“A teddy that Clara had from her parents,” Jenny answered, a sad look on her face. 

“Oh, okay,” she nodded, smirking slightly when she heard a defeated sigh and small whimper on the phone. “Seems you weren’t supposed to tell me that.” 

“Clara get over it!” Vastra called to the phone, hoping she’d hear her. It seemed to have worked by the silence that followed. “We’ll try to get it but I reckon Missy either has it or- Are you okay dear?” 

Amy stilled as she snapped her head over from behind her to the taller woman. “Huh? Y-Yeah. It’s just c-cold and I was-” 

“I don’t appreciate being blatantly lied to Amy,” Vastra’s eyes flashed gold. 

“Um,” Amy gulped. “C-Clara talk to Jenny, say if there’s anything else they’re not meant to tell me.” 

Confused, Jenny grabbed the mobile when it was passed to her and talked into it. “Clara hi...” 

Vastra put the small cardboard box down by the human’s feet and stood two inches away from her. “What’s wrong dear?” 

“N-Nothi-” 

“I can tell when someone’s scared Amy,” she sighed, a sympathetic look on her face. “Is it us?” 

“N-No, I swear it’s not,” she shook her head. “Um, it’s... S-Someone I saw on the way here...” 

“This person scares you?” 

“A b-bit yeah, I mean, he’s d-drunk and did-” 

“It’s a he?” Vastra raised a brow, and the human nodded. “Do you want us to deal with him?” 

“N-No,” Amy raised her hands slightly, in case the wolf was to somehow bolt off to find the drunk man. “I-I don’t want something to h-happen and somehow him or anyone finding out about you. A-Any mention of werewolves here and M-Missy will bite my head off.” 

“That’s true,” she hummed in thought. “At least let us walk you back, keep an eye on you so he doesn’t... I’m assuming he’s done or said something pretty bad in the past for you to be scared of him.” 

“Y-Yeah,” the human gulped. “Um, t-thanks, I’d l-like that... I uh, have to get food though...” 

“Okay-” 

“Oh, while she’s distracted,” Amy motioned towards Jenny, who was still happily talking to Clara on the phone. “Um, Clara doesn’t eat and I was wondering if s-she was always like that or if it’s b-because of what happened last night?” 

“She wasn’t always not eating no,” Vastra shook her head. “Because of what Missy did and how she was treated afterwards, Clara did... How do you say, uh, developed depression? After what happened last night must have triggered it again. We would try to look after her but sometimes we were separated and there were times she would sleep all day and night, not wanting to move or eat. And some other self-destructive behaviour.” 

“She... H-How did I not realise-” 

“She’s not exactly open about it,” Vastra shrugged. “Actually, I’m not even sure she knows seeing as she was never taught this stuff. I did try to hint at her about it but she sometimes blanked it out.” 

“O-Okay,” Amy muttered as she tried to process all of this new information. “T-Thanks for disclosing that-” 

She jumped when she heard an empty beer can being rolled down the path and a small slurred chuckle. Vastra noticed her apprehension and looked in the direction of the can thrower, thankfully not seeing him. Amy dreaded to think what would happen if she saw him. 

“Amy, Clara says you need to get food,” Jenny interrupted her thoughts as she passed her the mobile. “Something about you eating too.” 

“Y-Yeah, thanks,” she said distractedly as she grabbed the phone, not taking her eyes off the can. “Clara? Yeah, everything’s fine I swear. Just going to get chips now, anything you want? A-Are you sure? Okay, I’ll be back in ten, and have to hang up now, my phones dying. Stay in the kitchen and don’t answer the door yeah? Okay, good, see you later.” 

With that, she hung up. The two wolves stared at her confused and concerned, Jenny tilting her head like Clara would do when she’s puzzled. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she finally turned her attention to the brunette. “Just going to get food-”

“We’re walking her home,” Vastra interrupted as she picked up the box. “C’mon.”

Amy nodded timidly as she turned to go into the chip shop that was next to the corner shop. As they walked in Vastra whispered her reasoning to her confused wife. Luckily, there was no sign of the drunk getting closer and the chips got cooked rather quickly.

As she got escorted home she looked out for any danger, whether it be the drunk guy or Missy, or even John. Unfortunately, she did see him walking the same way as they were on the way back, but he was still on the opposite side of the road. Sensing her discomfort, and possibly her fear, Vastra and Jenny sped up and went to her side rather than following behind her.

“Are you okay?” Jenny asked quietly.

“Y-Yeah, thanks,” she smiled down at her. “Um, I’ll be okay from here. And C-Clara doesn’t want you two breaking this law thing-”

“Are you sure?” Vastra raised a brow, obviously not believing her.

“Yeah, my home’s just two houses away,” she pointed as she whispered, hoping not to get the attention of the drunk again.

“We’ll stay here until you’re in, just to make sure okay?”

“O-Okay,” Amy sighed as she held her arms out, her plastic bag with her chips in swinging against her hip slightly. “Thanks, r-really I mean it.”

“Our pleasure,” Jenny bowed with a childlike grin once her wife passed the human the box. “Stay safe yeah.”

“Yeah,” she smiled; the younger brunette’s attitude rather infectious. “I’ll tell Clara you guys say hi and stuff.”

“Please do,” Vastra smiled sweetly at her, yet eyed the drunk man suspiciously. “Are you sure you don’t want us to do anything?”

“I’m sure,” Amy nodded sternly, already picking up her pace as she braced herself to walk past him  again. “Need to get this in before it goes cold.”

“Goodbye Amy, take care of our Clara for us,” Jenny hugged her quickly with a huge grin.

“I will,” she attempted to hug back but it ended quickly. Before she could even turn to address Clara’s other friend, Vastra wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gently kissed her on the forehead.

“Look after yourself too,” she whispered before pulling back.

At a loss for words, Amy merely nodded sheepishly and headed home. She kept her gaze at the floor, lightly jogging to her house. She could feel the two wolves staring at her as she went from jogging to sprinting into her garden and to the door, hoping the drunk didn’t notice her this time and didn’t see where she lived. Unfortunately, she remembered she locked the door. Sighing quietly to herself, she gently put the box down and searched her pockets for her keys. Luckily, she found them rather quickly and unlocked the door without any trouble. Once the door was  opened, she picked up the box and rushed in, closing the door behind her.

“A-Are you okay?” Clara peered her head around the kitchen door, worry evident in her features as she saw a slightly panting red-head leaning against the door.

“Yeah,” she lied as she caught her breath. “Ran here, didn’t want the chips to get cold.”


	11. Two Weeks Later

It had been two weeks since meeting Vastra and Jenny, something that hadn’t happened since. It clearly upset Clara that she couldn’t see her friends again. She tried to hide it, but it didn’t work. Amy tried to cheer her up by watching comedies with her, she didn’t laugh though. The past few nights she curled up on the sofa, albeit awkwardly due to the almost healed leg that was still in a cast, and leaned into the human before falling asleep on her. It was oddly comforting knowing that the brunette was comfortable enough to sleep on her, but by the morning she would apologise and shuffle away. Now that hurt. She would always reassure Clara it was okay, but she apologised every time. 

They had decided to give the Echo idea a try and decided that they would say the breed is a Saarloos Wolfdog since Amy had suspected there was some sort of German Shepherd mixed in her when they first met. She did look like some sort of wolf in the daylight after all. 

Seeing as they had to pretend to have a dog, Amy thought they should go to Pets at Home to get some supplies. However, they didn’t have anything that could act as a leash or collar, so they did the measuring at home and had Clara in her human form as they walked there. 

“You’ve never been to a Pets at Home?” Amy asked in disbelief once they were approaching the shop. 

“Not that I can r-recall,” Clara looked up at it, trying to figure out if she had some memory of it. 

“Okay once we get the collar and lead, I am so showing you the animals',” the human grinned as they walked in. 

Confused, she looked around before whispering; “They have animals here?” 

“Yeah, mainly rodents and fish, some rabbits too,” she dragged her friend to the dog isle. “I’ll show you them later, let’s pick out collars and stuff.” 

“This is... Odd,” Clara admitted as she looked at the array of collars, tags, and leashes. “D-Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful, and e-excited just... It’s kinda surreal I guess?” 

“It’s cool,” Amy grinned. “It’s kinda surreal for me too. So, pick any one you want and I’ll get a tag... Do you want a shape one or heart or bone?” 

“Um,” she looked down at the customizable metal tags. “That r-red bone one looks cool.” 

“Cool, I’ll get it engraved, be back in a bit,” the human said as she grabbed it and walked off. She went up to the till to see a woman on her phone. 

“Oh hey,” she greeted. 

“Hey,” she held up the item. “I still need to buy more things but could I get this engraved today?” 

“Yeah sure,” the woman grinned as she took the bone shaped tag. “What do you want on it?” 

“Oh, it’s right here,” Amy dug around in her jacket pocket to find the crumpled piece of paper with the word ECHO for one side of the tag and Amy’s address and mobile number on the other. “Here.” 

“Echo’s a lovely name for a dog,” she smiled as she looked at the address. “My Nephew lives by you. Ever see him? Tall bloke, blonde hair, usually wears chains and ripped jeans? Goes by Luke?” 

“I think I have,” she thought for a few seconds. “Does he ride a skateboard?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Then yes, I have. Nice kid,” she smiled. “I better get back to my friend, how long will it take?” 

“Not long, just ask one of the staff to call for Veronica,” the worker gestured to the man feeding the fish by the aquarium area. 

“Okay, thanks,” Amy twirled around and headed towards the collars, only to see a red lead and collar in Clara’s hands. “Found one then?” 

The brunette jumped and turned to look up at her. “Oh uh, y-yeah, maybe,” she showed her the red leather collar. “It’s between this a-and the tartan one.” 

“It’s up to you,” the human shrugged. “And as for lead, I was thinking those extending ones? I assume Echo would like to run around, but sometimes we might need a shorter lead. Make sense? And apparently it’s comfortable.” 

Clara watched as she walked over to the three leads with a block handle, a button to choose the length of the lead and whether it can be locked or not. “They seem good y-yeah.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yeah,” the brunette nodded. “If you get the red one it will go w-with the collar?” 

“We’re really going with the red theme, aren’t we?” Amy laughed as she picked the lead. 

“S-Seems so yeah,” Clara giggled slightly, putting the lead. “W-What else do we need?” 

“Toys, and maybe some treats?” 

“T-Treats?” 

“Yeah,” Amy twirled around to find the small pick n mix like dog treats. “We can try chocolate bones? Apparently – and don’t ask me how I know – they taste just like chocolate.” 

“I-I have to ask,” Clara smirked slightly, her curiosity peaked by her statement. 

“Matt,” she sighed. “He decided to try them and yeah, turns out they’re not that bad.” 

“Try them t-then,” she shrugged as she looked for something to put the treats in. Thankfully, the human found a clear bag and some sort of scoop for her. “T-Thanks.” 

“You do that and I’ll look for toys, then I’ll take you to look at the animals, yeah?” 

“Yeah,” Clara grinned, excited to get the opportunity to see the animals, despite them being domesticated pets.

Amy walked over to the isle next to the dog treats and looked for a tennis ball. She found a pack of six multicoloured tennis balls, and decided on them, not knowing how many they’ll need and thought it would be good to get something for Riley too. As she searched for other toys, she saw a T-Rex plushie and thought it would go with the red theme so she picked it up. It looked cute after all. She turned around only to jump when she saw Clara behind her. 

“Geez, don’t sneak up on people like that,” she sighed with a small chuckle at the startle. Clara however, merely looked down and muttered an apology. The human shook her head and gently raised the brunette’s head to face her. “Hey, it’s okay. It was a joke.” 

“Oh,” she blushed slightly once realisation hit. “O-Okay, um... W-What have you got?” 

“Tennis balls and a dinosaur plush,” Amy raised the items to show her. “What’cha think?” 

“Think we’re really going for a red theme,” she smirked. 

“Yeah,” the red-head laughed. “Got the chocolate bones?” 

“Yup.” 

“Wanna see the animals?” 

“Yeah!” 

Clara grinned like a child had just been told they’re having McDonald’s. Laughing slightly at her childlike behaviour, Amy wrapped an arm around her shoulders and started to walk to the back of the shop. “They won’t sense you being a... Y’know.” 

“Um, I-I don’t know,” she admitted nervously. 

“Well if they hide, we’ll know why,” Amy sighed. Luckily, they didn’t. When Clara looked into the cages and over the small glass wall separating them from the rest of the shop, the animals didn’t react. Seeing the happy childlike expression on the brunette’s face, she couldn’t help but look in awe at her. “I’ll go pay for these and see about the tag. You okay to stay here?” 

“Yeah,” she half whispered, not wanting to startle the peaceful animals. 

“Cool,” was all Amy said before she headed back to the till to see Veronica about the tag. “Finished the shop, is that tag ready?” 

“Yes,” Veronica smiled as she presented it. “Hope that’s alright for you.” 

The writing was Times New Roman and big enough for anyone to see if they got close enough to it. She knew Clara wouldn’t get lost or wander off, but it was for show, and slightly precaution. 

“Yup, that’s good,” Amy grinned. “Need to get these things too.” 

Veronica scanned all of the items, starting with the tag and ending with the treats. “First time getting a dog?” 

“Looking after one from time to time,” she corrected. “She doesn’t have a tag or collar so for safety thought I’d get one.” 

“Fair enough,” the woman shrugged as she put the treats through. “Altogether that’s £24.50.” 

Once she paid, she reluctantly pried Clara away from the rabbits, claiming they’ll come back to see them again. She was okay with that agreement. A relatively long walk later they unpacked the items they bought and decided to try the collar and lead. 

“Mrs. Finch will be here in ten minutes, mind if we test these out?” Amy gestured to the bag of pet supplies. 

“Yeah, sure,” Clara smiled. She put the crutches to the side and closed her eyes. Moments later her eyes snapped open, both glowing gold with light orange wisps emitting from her. In a blink of an eye there was a wolf sitting where the brunette once stood.

“Don’t think I’m ever going to get used to that,” the human admitted with a small sigh. “Okay stick your neck out for me.” 

The wolf did so as she shuffled closer to the human. She kneeled down as she put the collar that had the engraved tag attached to it on her. Thanks to the measuring they did beforehand it fitted perfectly, and actually looked good on her. Not that that was surprising. It seemed Clara suited red in both forms. 

“How does it feel?” Amy asked as she stood up, put paused when she realised, she had no way of getting an answer. Well, that was until an idea popped in her head. “Okay, okay, raise your left paw if you like it, and the right paw if you hate it.” 

Clara raised her left paw immediately. 

“Great-”

Before she could carry on there was a knock at the door. Both of their heads turned to it, and Clara’s ears perked up as she stood, slowly making her way to the door, sniffing the air occasionally. Amy guessed it was Mrs. Finch and Riley at the door. They were early, but she didn’t mind. Bracing herself, she stood up and answered the door. 

“Amy,” Mrs. Finch instantly greeted before the door was fully open. “Thanks for inviting me and Riley over- Oh, this must be Echo.” 

‘Echo’ sat by Amy’s feet, looking up at the woman before turning her attention back to the Border Collie who started to sniff at her. “Yes, this is her. She uh, startles easily so maybe no sudden movements?” 

“Oh sure, yeah,” Mrs. Finch grinned. “No fussing then?” 

“Probably not now no, she’s only just getting used to me and Clara,” Amy lied as she looked down at the wolf. “Anyway, please come in. Tea or coffee?” 

“Tea please,” Mrs. Finch walked in and closed the front door. As soon as she did Riley sniffed at Clara and ran into the kitchen. 

Amy greeted him and patted him on the head as she got out the mugs and filled the kettle. “Riley likes tennis balls yeah?” 

“Can’t get enough of them,” the woman laughed as she sat down. 

“I got a pack of six and don’t think Echo’s going to need six,” she explained quickly as she opened the pack and gently threw a red and green one on the floor. Riley went for it immediately, with Clara following close behind. “Does he want three?”

“You can still keep them here,” Mrs. Finch smiled when Riley came from the hallway with the tennis ball in his mouth, bringing it to the red-head. “He’ll rip them apart at home.” 

“True,” Amy laughed as she took the slobbery ball from the Border Collie and threw it again. Except this time, she got another one out for Clara, noticing she looked rather sad at not catching it. She perked up immediately and chased after it. 

“So, how are you dear?” 

“Oh, I’m alright,” she smiled up at her. “Got Clara keeping me company-” 

“You saw Silas, didn’t you?” 

Amy froze. How did she know? She didn’t tell anyone about that, not even Clara. The kettle whistled, so she stood up and made the tea. Clara and Riley came back with the balls, this time he went to Audrey, whereas Clara just dropped it on the floor, staring at Amy as she made the tea. 

“K-Kinda yeah,” the red-head admitted with a small sigh as she handed the mug to her neighbour. “How did you?” 

“I heard him around a few weeks back, and met his brother,” she explained before throwing Riley’s ball down the hall. “Turns out he has family up here and was visiting. Jordan, his brother, was apparently told a different version to what you told me.”

Amy shifted in her seat uncomfortably. Her discomfort must have been visible because Clara whined slightly as she sat by her chair. Smiling slightly, she patted her on the head before turning her attention towards her neighbour. “W-Which one-”

“Yours obviously,” she interrupted, as if it was obvious. “Jordan seems like a nicer boy though and didn’t really believe Silas.”

“G-Good.”

“Sorry to bring it up dear,” Mrs. Finch looked at her sympathetically. “Where’s your friend?”

“Upstairs, sleeping,” Amy quickly lied, still a bit tensed up by the mention of Silas. “Rough night.”

“I hope she’s doing okay...”

“Me too.”

An hour of small talk and the two canines’ getting along later, Mrs. Finch decided to leave. They bid their goodbyes and Clara waited until they were out of the garden to transform back again. Once she did, she glanced up at Amy as she cleared up, still a little on edge from the Silas talk.

“So,” Amy started once she put the empty mugs in the dish washer. “How was it with Riley?”

“He’s a bit of a show off to be honest,” she laughed slightly as she grabbed onto the collar, trying to take it off with no luck.

“Really?” the red-head smirked slightly at seeing Clara with the collar still on. “Do you want help with that?”

“Y-Yes please,” she sighed in defeat.

Amy just laughed. “ C’mere then.”

Clara did so and held her head up for access. “It was fun though, b-being in wolf form.”

“I’m glad,” she smiled as she unclipped the collar. “Maybe next time we can actually go outside.”

“Really?”

Amy shrugged, “I don’t see why not.”


	12. Guard Dog

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Harassment and hinted at assault.

It had been three weeks since Clara met Riley and it was safe to say, they got along and Mrs. Finch was fooled. Rory and Mels had popped by a few times, only once seeing Echo and playing fetch with her. It got a tad bit complicated to think of excuses for why Clara was gone or asleep when she was posing as Echo, especially with Martha. She would always want to check up on her since she heard about her depressive episodes, but Amy managed to stop it, or Echo would distract her. 

“I-I think we need to be careful around her,” Clara admitted as they walked along the street, still rather unsteady on the crutches. She had gotten used to using them occasionally since her leg didn’t hurt anymore, but she still had to use them out to fool people since she still had the cast on. 

They had decided to go to the shops for some snacks before having an Avengers Marathon, something that Amy had wanted to do because Clara missed out on them. She had also missed out on getting junk food and staying over friends, so they bought all the childhood snacks they could think of. 

“Martha?” Amy asked as she chewed on a Wham bar. 

“Y-Yeah,” she nodded, yet eyed the sweet warily. “That... Doesn’t look good...” 

“It’s incredibly unhealthy yeah,” the human laughed and handed her the bar. “Nice though, try it.” 

Cautiously, Clara stopped and grabbed the sweet. She sniffed at it before taking a bite, confused when it didn’t immediately snap off and pulled the sweet away from her. Chewing, she passed it back to the red-head. 

“What do you think?” she giggled at the confusion on the brunette’s face, her nose scrunched up slightly as she chewed. 

“Nice but... C-Chewy...” 

“Yeah, takes a while to eat and kinda gets stuck in your teet-” 

“Well look who it is,” a rather tall brunet with a red cap approached them, a smirk plastered on his face. “Pond out in the world.” 

Amy froze. She stared up at the man in wide eyed silence, unsure if she could even speak. Whereas Clara looked between the two, now on guard seeing her friend’s reaction, supressing an animalistic growl. 

“Hey, got the milk,” a lighter brunet man joined them, holding up a small white plastic bag. He paused when he saw the two girls. “And who are these?” 

“Dunno about shorty, but the red-head is Amy-” 

“Pond?” he questioned, looking over her. “Your...” 

“Ex, shall we say?” the man winked. 

“We s-shouldn't say,” Amy finally spoke, however quietly. She seemed intimidated, something Clara had only seen when she saw Missy and John, and that was enough to keep her on alert. 

“Well we’re not still together-” 

“Silas,” the guy with the milk interrupted, lightly scratching at the stubble on his chin. “If she says she’s not your ex then she’s not.” 

“But Joshy,” he drawled as he stepped towards her and grabbed her arm, making her flinch. “She is, aren’t you Pond?” 

“I-I,” she stammered, eyes still rather wide as she stared down at his hand, shaking slightly. 

“Let her go Si,” Josh stepped forward, his hand reached out slightly but didn’t grab anything. “If she is your ex then there’s a reason.” 

“I broke up with her actually,” he sneered, his grip on her arm tightening. “Isn’t that right Ames?” 

Her breathing increased as she shook her head and tried to back away. “P-Please just-” 

“What’s the point in lying ‘ey? I told my brother everything,” Silas yanked her forward and placed his hand against her back in one swift movement, trapping her against him. He chuckled as he dragged his fingers along her hair, his other hand still had a tight grasp on her forearm. “He already knows we fucked.” 

“Silas,” Josh, his seemingly older brother warned, sending an apologetic look towards Clara, who had to use all of her strength not to snarl at him. 

“L-Let go of me,” Amy attempted to push against him, but he just pulled her in closer. “S-Silas please-” 

“You feel that?” he whispered into her ear. 

Before she could react, he hit the ground. Amy jumped at the sudden change in touch, eyes watering when what he whispered caught up to her. She looked up to see a white stick of some sort hanging there. It took a second for her to realise it was Clara’s crutch, and that she was suddenly next to her. Looking down at the brunette, she noticed a flash of gold in her eye, but it quickly faded. 

“Bitch,” Silas grumbled as he looked up at the two girls, who instinctively stepped back, and looked back at his brother. “Aren’t you going to do anything?” 

“Yes actually, I am,” Josh sighed and stepped towards them, making sure there was some sort of space between his brother and the girls. “Leave.” 

“W-What?” Amy choked out. 

“Are you-” 

“Silas shut it,” he waved his hand at him before turning his attention to the red-head. “Leave before the dickhead – who totally deserved a crutch to the face – gets up.” 

Stunned, Amy was going to thank him, but Clara didn’t give her a chance. She found herself being dragged away back to her house, not stopping until they were inside and the door was locked. She dropped the bag onto the floor and leaned against the wall, but somehow that triggered a memory so she stood straight, her breathing slowly increasing. 

“Kitchen or living room?” 

In a bit of a daze, Amy looked up at her with a confused expression. “W-What?” 

“Which one do you want to go in? To sit down, the kitchen or living room?” she asked carefully as she stared at her, the crutches discarded by the door. 

“Um... L-Livingroom,” she stammered out with a small nod, not entirely focused on the brunette. Despite being shaky and not paying attention to anything, Clara managed to safely guide her to the living room and sat her down on the sofa. 

“Water?” 

“P-Please.” 

Clara sprinted off to the kitchen and arrived shortly with a glass of water. “Drink and deep, slow breathes okay?” 

Amy did so. A few minutes later she had managed to calm down and drank all of the beverage. Clara stayed knelt in front of her, staring at her for any signs of distress. Once it was clear she had calmed down she sighed and sat down on the floor, her back against the sofa. 

“Look at you miss protector,” Amy giggled slightly as she ruffled the brunette’s hair, only to get a laugh in response. Suddenly, she remembered what Missy had done and stopped, but that was only met with a disappointed whine. “Wait, you like that?” 

“F-From you yeah,” Clara smiled up at her. 

“Oh, so do you want me to keep going?” 

“Please?” 

Laughing, Amy did so. It was oddly calming, like stroking a dog that had chosen to cuddle up to her. She was still cautious though, so she didn’t tug at any strands of hair. She heard a hum from the brunette that caught her attention, it seemed like she was enjoying it as much as the human. 

“You’re cute, you know that?” she whispered before preparing to bring up the elephant in the room. “A-And strong...” 

Clara looked up at her when the movement stopped, and climbed up onto the sofa. “Y-Yeah, um, sorry about that. I just got this sudden urge to protect you and the c-crutch came in handy...” 

“Don’t apologise,” Amy shook her head. “Thank you, really. You saved me when I couldn’t, a-and stopped me from spiralling.” 

“S-Spiralling?” 

“Or have some kind of attack, honestly I’m n-not sure-” 

“Guessing you don’t want to talk about the past?” Clara suddenly asked. 

“I uh,” Amy looked away from her, down at the empty glass she was still holding. “S-Sorry I don’t, at least n-not right now. But uh, p-please don’t tell anyone of this? The others... T-They don’t know, n-not even Mrs. Finch knows the full story...” 

“Secret’s safe with me Amy, don’t worry,” she grinned at her. “You talk about it when you want to, no rush.” 

“Y-Yeah,” she smiled, tears in her eyes. After all that had happened between them, all of what she knew about Clara, all of the questions that were willingly answered, she didn’t demand answers. It was amazing how much she seemed to understand even with her limited human interaction. Yet she had no idea how much she had just said mattered to Amy. “N-No rush...” 


	13. Unfortune Events

“Sorry we didn’t watch the movies last night,” Amy apologised as she walked into the kitchen, closely followed by Clara. They ended up settling down on the sofa and falling asleep instead of watching Avengers, cuddled up against one another. 

“It’s okay, we could always do it tonight?” the brunette tilted her head slightly as she sat down at the table when the human did. “Do you have any-” 

There was a knock at the door. 

“I said we’d take Echo out today,” Amy winced as she remembered her plans. 

“Oh, do you want me to-” 

“You don’t have to no,” she sighed. “Honestly, I just want to stay in today...” 

“Okay,” Clara nodded and looked at the door when she heard Riley bark. “W-We should probably answer the door then.” 

“Y-Yeah,” the human shook her head and headed towards the door. Bracing herself, she sighed before opening it. “Hey Mrs. Finch-” 

“Please, call me Audrey dear,” she grinned up at her. 

“Audrey,” she corrected herself as she cleared her throat. “Sorry but we couldn’t get Echo today, she uh, I don’t know really, she had to get shots or something?” 

“They didn’t tell you why?” 

“T-They did,” Amy groaned as she rubbed her eyes tiredly. “Sorry, it was early this morning and I wasn’t paying attention. It was something to do with the vets though.” 

“Okay,” her neighbour nodded. “Well, do you two want to come for a walk with me and Riley?” 

“Sorry,” the human looked at her, guilt written across her face. “I uh, I really don’t feel like going out today-” 

“Why’s that dear?” Mrs. Finch asked worriedly. 

“Um, I uh...” 

Clara noticed her breathing increase, so she decided to jump in. “W-We uh, d-didn't get much s-sleep last night and um-” 

“I-It’s okay Clara,” Amy gently patted her shoulder, giving her a tired grin, thankful that her friend had decided to make up an excuse. “But thanks.” 

“Thanks for?” Audrey asked, unaware of what she meant and then turned to the red-head. “Amy what’s wrong?” 

“We uh, w-we ran into S-Silas yesterday,” she sighed. “Clara hit him w-with a crutch, g-got him off me...” 

“You hit him with your crutch?” 

“Y-Yes,” Clara nodded meekly, taken back by the astonishment in her tone. 

“Well, he did deserve it,” the woman shrugged. “He didn’t... Do anything too bad did he?” 

“H-Honestly, I don’t really want to get into d-details,” she waved her hand dismissively. 

“Okay, well I better take Riley for his walk. I’m just a phone call away though, remember you can call me at any time,” she smiled up at them. “Of course, you have Clara now, but just remember I’m always here. For you too Clara.” 

The brunette blinked, surprised at Mrs. Finch addressing her and actually saying she’ll be there for her. Amy merely smiled kindly at her, and thanked her for the reassurance. They said their goodbyes before they closed the door and headed towards the living room. Silently, they sat down on the sofa and the human sighed to herself as she changed the channel on the tv. 

It was clear Amy was tired, if not by how she acted then by the way her eyes always seemed half closed since she woke up. Despite them being cuddled up on the sofa, and enjoying it, she did jump awake a few times, which of course woke the brunette up. She didn’t mind though, seeing as she had caught up on her sleep the past few nights, but Amy hadn’t. When she did wake up, she had made some sort of yelping noise, or would just jump and start crying, burying her head into the pillow. It saddened the wolf to see her like that and she tried to comfort her the best she could, yet was wary in case any move she made would cause the human to spiral. Luckily, it didn’t. 

“S-She’s really nice,” Clara broke the silence that had stretched on between them. 

“Y-Yeah, she is,” Amy yawned. She attempted to hide it but failed. 

“Y-You can go to sleep you know...” 

“If I do I won’t sleep tonight then it’ll go into a cycle,” she groaned as she made a circle shape with her finger in the air. 

“O-Okay,” the brunette nodded. “Do you uh, wanna talk about it or a distraction?” 

“D-Distraction...” 

Clara thought for a moment, until a thought popped up in her head. “Did I ever t-tell you how Jenny got turned?” 

“Wasn’t it by Vastra? During their honeymoon?” Amy raised a brow, remembering what they had said when they first met. 

“Yes, but did Vastra say how she reacted?” 

“Who reacted?” 

“Her. She called me – we had burner phones for w-when she would sneak off to see Jenny, but got rid of them after the honeymoon, anyway, uh, s-she called me in a panic. She kept saying she did something stupid, but I could hear Jenny laughing in the background so it was very confusing. She said she bit Jenny, and most likely turned her but then got bashful when I asked where and how. She kept sputtering stuff and trying to distract me by changing the subject, but Jenny took the phone off her and just yelled down the phone giggling that they just had s-sex and it was on her hip, caught in the moment and all. Jenny found it hilarious and apparently Vastra was almost being a needy puppy the rest of the night.” 

“That,” Amy paused, unsure if she had even heard Clar talk that much in one go, or say more than one sentence smiling. “Is amusing,” she giggled. “But I can’t imagine Vastra being puppy like.” 

“Jenny’s words, not mine,” Clara grinned, her hands in the air, clearly in a ‘don’t blame me’ gesture. “But she always was around Jenny. She can be sheepish at times too. She even got Jenny to pose whilst she was figuring out where to meet and stuff on a board and planning the wedding and honeymoon. Jenny thought she was painting her since she had her paints out and apparently had done that before. Vastra got flustered over Jenny being annoyed at having to pose while Vastra was silently planning their wedding, and just said ‘art’ as if she was even questioning herself, and said that Jenny lit up the room.” 

“That is cute,” the red-head laughed. “Didn’t think Vastra would be a painting type – wait, so, you knew Jenny when she was human?” 

“Yeah,” the brunette nodded, a huge grin on her face. 

“But what about Missy’s no human rule?” 

“Since Jenny knew and actually wanted to be one since uh, well she loved Vastra, but also her family didn’t like the fact that she likes girls, so yeah, it was an escape of sorts. A-Anyway, yeah uh, they agreed Jenny could be around the pack and we can visit her as long as Vastra turns her, but she didn’t want to until they were married so Jenny didn’t make a mistake, since she is younger than her.” 

“Well it’s good that Missy was that considerate of their feelings, and didn’t make any threats-” 

Another knock at the door made her stop. They looked towards the door, neither of them moving. Seeing as they weren’t expecting anyone else, Amy cautiously walked over and answered the door, Clara following very close behind, on guard for any danger. When she did open the door, they were greeted by two men. 

“Hey, Amy, right?” a tall black-haired man questioned, with Silas’s brother Josh beside him. Guessing he was also part of his family, Amy tensed up, preparing to see Silas, but nodded anyway. The man hesitated before introducing himself. “My name’s Jordan, I’m Silas and Josh’s older brother. I live down the road and they’ve been visiting for a while since Silas is out of Uni. I’ve actually met your neighbour Audrey.” 

“O-Okay...” 

“They uh, told me – well, Josh did, Silas denied it, about what happened yesterday,” he explained, looking rather annoyed at his younger brother’s behaviour. “He’s by the gate, we didn’t think he should come up here unless you said it was okay.” 

Amy took a step back and knocked into Clara, expecting Silas to turn up suddenly. Sensing her apprehension, Jordan carried on. 

“I just wanted to apologise for yesterday and for whatever he did to you. We did talk to him last night about how what he was doing was wrong but it took a few tries and about three glasses of Jacks to convince him to stop and apologise to you,” he rolled his eyes, seemingly remembering the event. “But if you don’t want to see him it’s okay. Just wanted to let you know he won’t be bothering you anymore, or your friend, and if he does, he’ll have me to answer to.” 

“Um, t-that's very nice of you Jordan a-and Josh, t-thanks for yesterday-” 

“You should really thank your friend,” he gestured the Clara. “I’m sorry though, I should have pulled him off when he first grabbed you.” 

“You should’ve yeah,” Jordan eyed him, clearly annoyed his brother hadn’t done that in the first place. 

“W-Well I’ve a-already thanked my friend,” Amy smiled at her, a grateful expression on her face. 

“Can I come up yet?!” 

She froze when they heard Silas call from the gate, which lead to Clara growling, yet not loud enough for the brothers to hear. At least, that was what the human has hoped. 

“No!” both of the men called back, clearly irked by their younger brother’s impatience.

“Okay, well sorry to bother you two,” Jordan smiled apologetically. “We won’t bother you again.” 

“Um, o-okay,” was all Amy could muster up, barely above a whisper. Clara held onto her hand and gave her a comforting squeeze. 

“Sorry again,” Josh said when he noticed them now holding hands and turned away to leave, shortly followed by Jordan. 

The two girls watched as they talked to Silas, Josh slapping him across the head and mutter something to him. As soon as he did Clara slowly let go of Amy’s hand, both of them immediately missing the contact. Silas, rubbing his head, turned to look at them but Clara closed the door before he could say or do anything. 

“Um,” Amy started when she saw Clara staring at her feet. She could have sworn she saw her blushing. 

“J-Josh thinks you’re uh, a l-lesbian,” Clara said a bit too quickly. She looked rather flustered but looked angry once something seemed to click in her head. 

“How do... You heard what he s-said to Silas when he hit him...” 

She trailed off, now understanding what it meant. Realising that the two brothers now have another reason – despite it being false – to hate Silas for what he did. However, none of that was important. What was important was what conclusion Clara had come to, and if that was the reason she let go of her hand. Tears started to form in Amy’s eyes the longer the brunette stayed silent. 

“S-So you uh,” the red-head tried to start the dreaded conversation, but stopped once Clara looked up. Her eyes were gold. Usually when her eyes were like that it meant she had a strong emotion, was this one anger? If it was then towards who. 

“S-Sorry,” Clara muttered as she shook her head, clearly thinking she had scared the human. “I’m uh, r-really angry at him... I c-could be wrong...” 

“H-He did,” Amy admitted, a catch in her throat as she bit her lip to stop her lips from trembling, in an attempt to stop herself from crying.

Fortunately, Clara didn’t press for any information. She merely stepped forward, went on her toes and wrapped her arms around the taller girl. They didn’t say anything. Amy slowly wrapped her arms around Clara and cried into her shoulder, unable to control it anymore. They just stood there in each other's embrace silently, bar from sobs from the human and heavy, jittering breathes, for as long as Amy needed. Even after she had calmed down and stopped crying they didn't pull back, they didn't want to. Unfortunately, they knew they had to. Begrudgingly, Amy pulled back, wiping at her eyes.

"T-Thanks for that Clara, really, I-I don't know how to express how g-grateful I am-"

"You d-don't have to," she smiled up at her, her golden eyes faded back to her natural chocolaty brown colour. "Seriously, it's the l-least I can do. J-Just any time you need that just c-come up and h-hug me."

Amy laughed as she sniffled and wiped at her face. "One condition."

"W-What?"

"You have to do that too. H-Hug me whenever you need, no matter where we are. Deal?"

Clara thought about it for a moment, before grinning and nodding. "Deal." 


	14. Travel Sickness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place a few days - around 2-4 - after the last chapter.

“Amelia Pond get your coat!” 

Clara jumped when she heard someone unfamiliar barge into the house, and call up to Amy, who was in the shower. The person sighed and muttered something about a shower, something she could only assume was him realising she was busy, before heading towards the living room. She froze when she saw a rather tall floppy haired brunet man stop in the doorway, his own expression mimicking her shocked one. They were both like a deer caught in headlights. 

“Oh, hello there,” he gave a small wave. “I’ve got the right house, right? Amy Pond?” 

“Y-Yeah,” Clara nodded and glanced up at the ceiling. “S-She’s pre-occupied...” 

“Ah, right yes, the shower noise,” he looked up at the ceiling before staring at the brunette. “Sorry, but you are?” 

“C-Clara,” she stood up and cautiously walked over to him, looking over his rather odd attire. He wore a white buttoned up shirt, one sleeve rolled up to his elbow and the other uncuffed at his wrist, a loose red bowtie hanging around his neck, black trousers, and brown scuffed boots. It seemed like he was in the midst of getting dressed before he stormed in here. “Y-You are?” 

“I’m Matt,” he grinned and held his hand out. Clara was still tense from not knowing him and flinched away at the sudden movement, which made him lower his arm slightly. 

“Matt,” she muttered, knowing the name sounded familiar. Her head snapped up once she remembered. “You’re Matt, Amy’s friend!” 

“Yeah,” he gave a lopsided smirk when he saw the excited puppy like expression on the girl’s face. 

“S-Sorry,” she apologised bashfully. “G-Got excited that I remembered...” 

“It’s okay,” Matt smiled down at her as he looked up once the shower had stopped. “So, how do you know our Amy?” 

“Oh um,” Clara paused for a moment, trying to remember the cover story. She hadn’t had to say it in so long. “S-She kinda found me with a br-broken leg and took me in. S-Staying here until it f-fully heals...” 

“Took you in? Don’t you have family?” 

She glanced up once she heard footsteps come down the stairs. “Um, t-they k-kicked me out...” 

“Oh,” his face fell, clearly stunned by the answer and regretted asking about her family. “I-I’m sorry-” 

“Matt!” Amy shouted as she ran in and almost tackled him to the floor as she hugged him. Drops of water flicked to Clara as the red-head's damp hair flew to her face. She hadn’t gotten out of the shower long seeing as her hair was still that wet, and that she was still barefoot in a towel like bath robe. 

“Quick as ever,” he laughed as he attempted to hug back. Unfortunately, it only led to a swift punch to the shoulder. “Ow!” 

“You were gone for four months!” she frowned; her usual cheerfulness quickly faded as she glared at him. “No phone call, nothing!” 

“Four months,” he muttered, still rubbing his arm. Clearly for exaggeration, Clara deduced since she saw how hard she actually punched him, knowing there was no malicious intent to it. “Sorry Ames, you know how I lose track of time.” 

“You could’ve at least kept your phone on,” she crossed her arms. 

“I left it at home,” Matt sighed with a small shrug. “Needed some time to myself.” 

“For four months?” 

“Yup,” he said, a goofy grin on his face returning to his face. “I have it now tho-” 

“Now doesn’t matter,” Amy scorned. “We were all worried about you-” 

“Yeah well you kept busy, taking care of your new pet here,” he gestured towards Clara, his tone gone darker. Angrier. 

They froze. Amy glanced at the brunette in question, both of them equally confused and scared. A few seconds of silence later, she turned her attention back to Matt. 

“P-Pet?” she asked, trying to keep it cool. 

“Well something’s going on here,” he gestured between the two girls. “She’s either gone through a lot or you’ve uncharacteristically done something. And you just taking her in? No knowledge of this girl you just take her in until her leg heals. Also, not to mention that she looks terrified right now and is perfectly standing on an apparent broken leg. So, there’s something you two are not telling me and I want to know now. Either you know why I went off the grid for four months, and you two tell me what’s going on, or, Fish Fingers and Custard this whole thing and I’ll go to the reason why I really came here.” 

“Fish Fingers and Custard.” 

“You sure?” Matt raised a brow, surprised at how quickly she answered. 

“Yes,” she nodded firmly. Despite her curiosity and general worrying for her friend, Amy needed to keep Clara’s secret. 

“Okay. Sorry about that. Shall we start again?” he grinned and extended his hand slowly towards the brunette. “Hi, my name’s Matt Smith, one of Amy’s best friends. Here to take you guys on an adventure!” 

“Smith,” Clara muttered as she shook his hand, staring into his eyes. 

“Yes, very common last name. Kinda generic, kinda hate it.” 

She shook her head once she realized she had been staring. Smiling, she nodded. “Y-Yeah, beats Oswald though.” 

“What’s wrong with Oswald?” Amy asked, remembering that that was her own surname. 

“I don’t like it,” the brunette shrugged. 

“It’s a nice surname, really suits you,” Amy walked over and nudged her shoulder playfully. 

“Clara Oswald,” Matt said rather quietly, as if he were testing the words before being confident saying them to someone. “Nice name.” 

“T-Thanks...” 

“So Matt, where do you want to take us?” the red-head raised a brow as she balanced on her heels for a second, swaying backwards and forth. 

“Right! Shopping Center half an hour away has a fifty percent off all Disney stuff in the stores and got a new Terry’s Chocolate Orange brownie that I really want to try. Wanna rally up the troops? It’ll be a fun day out. We can go to George’s.” 

“Oh, I haven’t had George’s in ages.” 

“W-Who’s George?” Clara asked carefully as she looked between the two. 

The humans glanced at each other before giggling at her cluelessness, despite Amy knowing the reasoning behind it. “It’s a fish and chips shop, not a person’s place-” 

“You’ve really never had George's?” Matt asked shocked, as if he had just heard someone say dinosaurs never existed. Amy had seen that sheer astonished face before when someone actually said that to him at a dinosaur theme park they went to in their teens. He then proceeded to go onto an hour rant of how dinosaurs exist and how we know what they look like based on their fossils. 

“N-No?” the brunette replied, rather timidly by his reaction. She even second guessed herself, on which one could only assume was because she had somehow outed herself as non-human. 

“We’re going, c’mon,” he twirled around, his finger pointed at the door as he walked out of the room. 

Amy laughed at his almost cartoon-like actions, and at Clara’s sheer confusion about what had just happened. She merely called out to her friend; “Let me get dressed first! You can rally up the troops, yeah?” 

Matt popped his head back in and grinned. “Yup! Be back in a bit!” 

He was out the door before anyone could say anything else. The two girls just stood there for a moment, staring at where Matt once was. Amy grinned and nudged the brunette playfully to get her attention. It worked. 

“You okay with going on a trip with my friends?” 

“I don’t mind,” she shrugged. “Matt s-seems... Um...” 

“Suspicious? Cool? Odd? A goofball? Excitable?” 

“Can be q-quite scary when he’s serious... It’s l-like he figured everything out just b-because I existed and seemingly leant on my b-broken leg.” 

“Yeah,” Amy sighed with a small nod before turning to face her. “He’s surprisingly observant.” 

“Y-Yeah,” Clara nodded slowly. “Um, w-who are the troops?” 

“Martha, Rory, Mels, Rose. Donna if she’s free but she works a lot and has to help out her Grandad most of her free days.” 

“W-Will the car be big enough?” 

“Depends on who can come,” Amy shrugged as she walked off to the hall, closely followed by the brunette. “If we can all go Mels might take her car, or Donna.” 

“Right,” Clara stopped at the stairs, looking baffled. 

“You okay?” the human raised a brow as she stopped on the stairs, her hand on the railing for support. 

“I-I’m not sure why I’m following you...” 

“Really?” Amy laughed slightly as she walked down to her. “Honestly, I’m used to it and I don’t mind. Plus, we were in conversation, it’s natural to follow the person who you’re talking to.” 

“Y-Yeah,” the brunette nodded with a small smile. 

“You okay now? Not questioning the universe?” 

“N-No,” she laughed at the human’s exaggeration. “G-Go get dressed; I’ll wait for the... Troops.” 

“Yes ma’am,” Amy giggled as she fake saluted with a wink. She rushed upstairs to do so. 

* * *

As it turned out Clara got travel sickness when travelling, something everyone – including herself – found out on the way to their destination. Luckily, she was by the window and got told to roll it down whenever she wanted, and Amy was next to her comfortingly rubbing her hand with her thumb any time it looked like the brunette was going to be sick. Unfortunately, it did happen when they got to George’s. 

“So close,” Martha muttered as her and Amy stood at either side of the throwing up brunette in an alley way. 

“Yeah,” the human sighed, wincing whenever she heard a gag from her kneeling form. “I didn’t think she’d have it this bad.” 

“I don’t think she did,” Mels interrupted from behind, her arms crossed. She glanced down at the brunette and back up at the two standing girls, disgust evident in her features. Surprisingly, she couldn’t stand anything to do with vomiting. “Matt wants to know if we’re still getting food. He doesn’t mind not going to the sale since it’s online, and apparently there’s a park nearby if Clara wants fresh air... Y’know, not an alley way that reeks of sick.” 

“Park might be nice,” Amy smiled slightly. “I’m still up for food, uh...” 

“Big question is will she eat anything?” Mels gestured towards Clara, who had finally stopped being sick but stayed in her kneeling position, eyes squeezed shut. 

“She can share with me,” Amy glanced down at her. Once it was clear she was no longer vomiting, she cautiously approached her. Gently, she placed a hand at the brunette’s back and rubbed in circles as she crouched down. “You okay now?” 

“She’s gonna need a drink,” Martha noted. “I’ll go with Matt and Mels, leave you two alone. Chips and battered sausage yeah?” 

“Yeah, thanks,” the red-head grinned up at her as she left. “How’re you feeling now?” 

“E-Embarrassed,” Clara squinted as she stuck her tongue out, letting the built-up saliva drip from it since she still had the horrid sick taste in her mouth. 

“Aw, it’s okay,” Amy giggled slightly. “People get travel sick. In fact, it makes sense if you have it this bad since you’re probably not used to cars.” 

“I-I’m not b-but I didn’t throw up w-when we w-were in John’s car...” 

“Well, we weren’t in it for as long as this trip, plus he had the air conditioner on and his windows open,” she explained as she attempted to comfort the brunette. 

“T-That’s true,” Clara winced as she leant back, not daring to look at the mess she had made. “I-I feel bad though...” 

“Why?” 

“M-Matt looked really e-excited to go-” 

“Don’t worry about that,” Amy smiled with a small dismissive wave of the hand. “He just wanted to be with us and had this as an excuse. He really doesn’t care about the sale, like Mels said, it’s online.” 

“O-Okay...” 

“It’s alright, really-” 

“What’s alright?” 

The two girls looked up to see Matt standing over them with two bottles of water in one hand, and some tissues in the other. 

“Clara feels bad for us missing out on the sale,” Amy explained. “Since you were excited for it.” 

“Oh,” his face fell. He then knelt down and handed the water to the red-head and tissues to Clara. “For your mouth,” he explained as he indicated towards hers. Nodding in understanding, she wiped at her mouth. “And I really don’t care about the sale Clara. I’m just glad we’re all hanging out, and that I’ve gotten to know a bit more about you.”

“T-Thanks,” she nodded with a small smile. "B-But are you sure?"

“Yup. And hey, I remembered the way to the park if you’re interested in going?” Matt asked as he stood up. “It’s within walking distance, better than eating in the car.”

“T-That would be nice,” she smiled as she glanced up at Amy. “W-What do you think?”

“I think,” she paused as she thought, and then grinned at her two friends. “Matt will be on the climbing frame before we finish eating.”


	15. Bad Timing

It had been a month since Clara met Matt, who had been just as kind to her as the rest of Amy’s friends, however, he had still seemed suspicious of her a few times. She would catch him glaring at her, specifically at her leg. Luckily, she hadn’t slipped up on using her supposedly healing leg in front of anyone else. 

The small group – mainly Matt and Mels – would come over unannounced a few times, luckily when she wasn’t Echo. Matt seemed like the type of person who would jump to conclusions, at least from what Amy had told Clara, and how he acted when they first met. Despite her being wary of him, he seemed like a nice guy, and clearly cared for every one of his friends, no matter how new. 

Whereas Mels was worried for Amy’s wellbeing, and sometimes would watch Clara around her. It made sense, yet made the brunette nervous around her. Which was one of the reasons she was home alone this evening. Amy had been called to hang out with Mels, but Clara hadn’t. Well, not specifically. Clara didn’t feel comfortable tagging along when she wasn’t invited, and she hadn’t felt well that day. 

“So you have days you feel more comfortable in wolf form?” Amy asked as she got ready to leave, grabbing her bag from the kitchen counter. “Like you feel drained?” 

“S-Something like that yeah,” Clara shrugged. “It’s hard to explain...” 

“Well, as long as you don’t answer the door in wolf form, go ahead,” the red-head grinned. “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable just because you haven’t turned in a while.” 

“A-Are you sure?” 

“Yes!” she laughed slightly at her adorable head tilt as they got to the front door. “Just be careful yeah?” 

“Of course,” Clara nodded firmly. “How long w-will you be gone?” 

“About two hours, maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less,” the human swayed, as if she were weighing out options. She opened the door and stood just outside the house. “I’m not sure but shouldn’t be long, she needs to go to an appointment anyway.” 

“Appointment?” the brunette tilted her head. 

“Sorry, confidential,” Amy put her finger to her lips with a small wink. “See you later yeah?” 

“Yeah,” she nodded and closed the door as her friend walked down the garden. Sighing, she wandered around the house, feeling drowsier and drowsier as she walked. She realised she had become rather skittish being in the house by herself, but was also tired and wanted to sleep. Understanding why she felt like this, she rolled her eyes and concentrated on turning. Thankfully, turning happened quicker than it usually did. 

In her wolf form she went into the kitchen and gulped down some water Amy had put in a red and black paw print designed metal bowl they had gotten when her and Riley had been tired after a walk together. She thought about her time with the surprisingly hyperactive canine, and liked that she was able to be as childish as she wanted to be around him. Despite being a bit full of himself – something she figured out by his actions when he would catch the ball first or got the bigger stick – he was fun to hang around. The other plus side of having to act like a dog was being petted by Amy. It was a nice change to have someone care enough about her to be gentle, unlike her time with Missy. Any time she had her hair petted was after it had been yanked for her to sit down next to her or pulled to a tree just because she was bored and wanted to see how many loose pinecones a body can shake off. 

Shaking her head from the memory, Clara walked away from the kitchen and into the living room to watch whatever was already on the TV. Turned out it had been some sort of sitcom with a newcomer into the home, claiming to be part of the family yet the brother didn’t trust her. It seemed to sum up Clara’s life here, except she wasn’t claiming to be anyone’s family, or lying to Amy about who she was or had any ulterior motive to being here. Seeing as there was nothing better to do, she decided to watch it. It turned out to be pretty good. 

An hour or so later she hopped off the sofa and went back into the kitchen for food. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a way to get anything without changing back. Stretching, she figured she had better change if she wanted to eat. A flash of gold light later, she saw over the kitchen counter again 

“Clara?” 

She froze. Assessing the situation, she recognised the voice and tone of it. It was a bit startled, but soft. She turned around to see Martha standing in the kitchen doorway, a bewildered expression on her face. 

“H-How-” 

“You’re a wolf?” the human breathed out. 

With her head bowed, she nodded slowly, fiddling with her hands. “Y-Yes-” 

“Does Amy know?” 

“Y-Yes.” 

Martha looked over the brunette, seemingly looking for any danger. When she saw there was none she cautiously sat down at the table and gestured for Clara to sit. She did rather timidly. Her heart was eating rapidly in her chest as she prepared for what the doctor was going to say. 

“So,” she sighed, not looking at the brunette. Y-You're a werewolf? Is that the correct term?” 

“Y-Yeah,” Clara gulped. “I-I guess you could say that...” 

“Not the dangerous type I take it,” Martha smiled slightly, earning a fast shake of the head from her. “H-How did Amy find out?” 

“Um,” she shifted in her seat. “W-When she took me in, I-I was in wolf form... N-Next day she saw me n-next to her l-like this but uh... N-Not uh...” 

“Clothed?” Martha raised a brow, a small smirk on her face. Bashfully, Clara nodded. “That answers why you were wearing Amy’s clothes for a while.” 

“Y-Yea-” 

“Clara? I’m back!” Amy called out from the front door. The brunette snapped her head up to the direction, glad that she was back. Martha laughed at her excited expression, which caused the other human to realise she was there. “Oh Martha, didn’t know you were coming over. What’s so funny?” 

“Just that Clara looked at you like a dog excited to see its owner,” she giggled as she waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, sorry, do you prefer wolf?” 

That clearly caught Amy off guard. She stood by her seat, looking between her friends, clearly seeing the worried expression on the shorter brunette. “W-What are you talking about?” 

Ignoring her, Martha continued to look at Clara. “You prefer to be referred to as a dog or wolf?” 

“S-She knows,” Clara clarified to the puzzled yet scared expression on Amy’s face. 

“Okay,” Amy quickly occupied the seat in between the two girls. Her breathing increased as she tried to come up with something to say. “Um, uh...” 

“Okay, why are you panicking?” Martha leaned forwards; concern laced in her voice. “What’s wrong?” 

“A-Amy?” Clara reached out for her arm slowly, a tad bit apprehensive. 

“S-She’s not going to tell anyone, so she’s going to be fine,” Amy said suddenly as she calmed down, yet didn’t look up from the table. “Even if Missy found out we’ll be fine because I didn’t tell her, and you’re fine because I know Martha won’t tell anyone- I've used the word ‘fine’ too many times, haven’t I?” 

“Yeah, just a bit,” Martha laughed nervously a little. 

“Damn, well, y-y’know what I mean.” 

“Wait, who’s Missy? Why are you so worried about her?” 

“She uh, she’s the one that turned Clara,” Amy explained when she saw her friend look down. “Can I say the basics?” 

“Um, y-yeah, sure,” Clara smiled slightly. 

“Basics?” Martha raised a brow. 

“Well, Clara was in a pack and she was exiled-” 

“Exiled?” she echoed before looking at the brunette. “What did you do to be exiled?” 

“I-I didn’t do anything,” Clara shook her head, worried that Martha would be wary of her again. “M-Missy got f-fed up with me and decided to k-kick me out...” 

“That doesn’t sound very Alpha-y,” the human frowned. 

“She didn’t seem it,” Amy shuddered at the memory of meeting Missy, how she threatened her, and how she treated Clara. “She’s uh, abusive. At least she was to Clara.” 

“You met her?!” 

“Kinda yeah,” she shrugged. “She threatened to kill me, a-and almost choked Clara to death because I knew about her.” 

“She... So that’s why you are worried about me knowing?” Martha asked slowly, unsure if she wanted her assumptions confirmed. 

“Y-Yeah... But I didn’t tell you, you found out... How did you anyway?” 

“She must’ve not heard me come in, saw her change from her wolf form to her now. Honestly though, I’m not surprised.” 

“Explains a lot huh?” Amy laughed slightly. 

“Yeah,” Martha nodded. “Although, I do know someone who would be thrilled to know.” 

Clara’s head snapped up at her, her eyes glowed gold. “Y-You’re-” 

“I’m not going to tell anyone don’t worry,” Martha held her hands up. “Just, I know that Matt has considered you being a werewolf.” 

“What?!”

A bit taken back by the two girls raising their voices in sync, the doctor merely nodded. “Yeah he has this whole thing. He’s convinced – well, I guess he’s figured out.”

“We aren’t good at this are we?” Amy laughed nervously.

“H-He’s not going to-”

“I don’t think he’s going to do anything, don’t worry,” Martha assured them. “He was just going on one of his typical rants.”

“A-Are you sure?” Clara asked carefully, clearly still worried. “H-He seems um...”

“It’s okay Clara really,” she reassured her with a smile. “Even if he finds out he won’t tell anyone, he’d be worried you’d get experimented on by a scientist or something.”

Shifting in her seat, she glanced up at her. “W-What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Y-You’re a d-doctor...”

Martha’s eyes widened in shock. “I’m not going to hurt you Clara,” she said softly. “Sure, I may be curious, but trust me, I’m not going to do any sort of experimenting on you.”

“Yeah, she won’t hurt you,” Amy backed her up, seeing the worry on Clara’s face. “I wouldn’t let it anyway.”

“Oh yeah, if I came anywhere near this house with a  needle, you’d lock the door and run,” Martha laughed.

“Well sorry for not liking needles,” she pouted with her arms crossed. “Anyway, Clara, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Y-Yeah, s-sorry,” she shook her head slightly.

“It’s okay to be concerned about things like that,” Martha assured her. “ But, I do have a medical question, if I could ask?”

Tilting her head slightly, Clara nodded. “S-Sure...”

“Do you still need your cast?  ‘Cause if you don’t I can take it off you if you make an appointment.”

“Oh, um,” Clara glanced down at her leg. “I-I don’t, no, j-just kept it so nobody would get suspicious.”

“Yeah, although it didn’t work with Matt  ‘cause of how observant he is,” Amy chimed in.

“Well you can make an appointment with me,” Martha smiled. “I’ll just say it was a small break or something.”

“A-Are you sure?”

“Yeah, just make an appointment when you’re ready, okay?”

“O-Okay, t-thanks,” Clara smiled up at her, unsure of how to process Martha being nice to her even after finding out Amy and her had been lying this whole time.

“Welcome.”


	16. Why Did I Do That?

True to her word, Martha managed to get the cast off early without arousing suspicion from anyone, even Matt. It was rather alarming finding out he thought Clara was a werewolf, but knowing him he wouldn’t do anything about it. She reckoned he would have done something already if he was that curious. 

“He won’t, w-will he?” 

“Nah, it’s just how he is,” Amy shrugged as she grabbed her coat. “He shouldn’t do anything to prove you’re a supernatural being.” 

“O-Okay,” Clara nodded, yet still seemed unsure. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to come? It’s just to the corner shop but I feel like I’m leaving you too much.” 

“Nah, I’m sure. B-But call the house if you feel uh...” 

“In danger?” Amy prompted with a raised brow and a small smirk. She laughed slightly and patted the bashful brunette on the head. “It’s okay, I'll definitely call if I see anyone, don’t worry.” 

“O-Okay,” Clara sat down at the kitchen table. 

“I’ll be back soon. You sure you don’t want anything? Chips? Drink? New tennis ball?” she smirked, referring to the pack of tennis balls that Riley had destroyed in their past meetings. She claimed he was trying to show off again, to who they were unsure. Although Mrs. Finch seemed to think it was Echo. 

“Bit late for tennis ball... Y-You were joking?” 

“A bit yeah,” she laughed. “But you never know in the corner shop, there could be a toy for dogs in there.” 

“Fair enough,” the brunette sighed as she rested her head on the table. 

“Rough night?” Amy asked slowly as she stopped in the doorway, now unsure about leaving. 

“J-Just a few nightmares, like usual,” she huffed before looking up at the human. She smiled tiredly when she saw the concerned expression on her face. “I’m fine, you don’t n-need to stay here. You’re not going to be long a-anyway, right?” 

“No, I’m not,” she reassured. “Twenty minutes at most? Just getting a few things.” 

“Have fun,” Clara waved slightly with a small smile, clearly tired. With a roll of the eyes, Amy waved back and headed out. 

It had been raining all day so they decided to stay in to avoid the bad weather. Fortunately, it had stopped raining now, but she brought her coat with her in case it picked up again. She knew she wouldn’t be outside for long, but the weather was fickle.

The way to the corner shop wasn’t bad, and she took her minimum time in there as she searched around and tried to remember what she needed. Sadly, she forgot the list she made and deduced it was too cold to walk back, she remembered most of the list anyway. It was just the basics; milk, bread, crisps, and pop and apple juice. She managed to pay without engaging in a long talk with the man behind the till like she would sometimes do with the manager, which was good since she wanted to get home to Clara.

On the way back it started to pour it down. Luckily, Amy had her parker coat with the faux fur lined hood on, however, she wore thin converse with three quarter jeans, so her feet definitely got wet. Unfortunately, she also walked into a puddle which splashed up her leg making her socks get soaked. Groaning, she shook her foot before rushing home, hoping the groceries weren’t getting too wet.

When she got back, she saw Clara curled up on the sofa fast asleep as the TV played the ending to an episode of whatever she had been watching. Trying to be as quiet as possible, Amy snuck to the kitchen and put the groceries away. She then snuck upstairs to her bedroom to change her now wet socks, still trying to be quiet as not to wake the sleeping brunette. 

As she headed back down, she got to the top of the stairs and stopped when she saw a seemingly half-asleep Clara practically crawl up the stairs, yet sped up as she got closer to the top. She paused once she saw Amy’s feet and slowly looked up, a bewildered expression as she stared at her. It just made the human laugh even more. 

“I-I uh...” 

“Is this what you usually do when I’m not here?” she smirked with her arms crossed, staring down at the brunette. “Crawl around like a wolf?” 

“Um... I-I'm tired, just g-going to bed,” she tried to explain. “It’s easier to g-get up the stairs like that...” 

“Gone a bit wolf-ish,” Amy pointed and wagged her finger, indicating to her now golden eyes. “It’s not a full moon day, right?” 

“N-Not that I know of...” 

“Well, I guess we’ll find out,” the human shrugged and stepped aside to let the brunette stand on the landing. She started to head downstairs once Clara had moved. 

“W-Where are you going?” 

“Downstairs, thinking of watching a bit of tv-” 

“O-Okay-” 

“You don’t have to come with y’know?” she smirked when she saw that she was going to follow her. “You said you were tired right? Go to sleep.” 

“Y-You sure?” 

Giggling slightly, Amy stepped towards her and lightly kissed her forehead. “Yes, now go to bed.” 

Baffled, and she could have sworn blushing, Clara merely nodded and wandered over to her room, whereas Amy skipped down the stairs, confused by her actions. She shook her head as she tried to explain why she did that as she sat down on the sofa. No Good Nick was on Netflix, it seemed Clara had liked that show. It made sense. The human guessed it was because of the familiarity of it within their own lives, although there were plenty of dire situations they could be in if they got caught. Thankfully, so far that hadn’t happened. 

Amy sighed and placed her hands on her face as she leaned back on the sofa, a slight groan escaping her lips as she thought about what she had just done. 

“Why did I do that?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone watched No Good Nick? I thought it was pretty good!


	17. Golden Eyes

The next day turned out to be a full moon, which explained Clara’s eyes being her wolf colour, and her wolf like characteristics being more prominent. Unfortunately, it was also a day where all of Amy’s friends were coming over. Clara suggested for her to fake being ill but Amy thought that would be too suspicious, especially if Matt was already curious about her in the first place. Instead, she got her an old cap she had from college and a pair of sunglasses to wear. 

“We’ll say you’ve got a migraine or something,” Amy shrugged as she put the hat and glasses on the brunette. 

“Wouldn’t I have to stay upstairs?” Clara asked as she adjusted the black lens glasses. 

“Not if it’s to light not sound,” the human glanced up at the light and back down to the brunette. Shrugging, she rushed to the door once she heard Matt outside. “If I’m wrong, I’m sure Martha will help out.” 

“O-Okay,” she nodded and attempted to relax. 

"Yo Pond!” Matt called as he barged into the house, a bag full of junk food on in arm. “Where should I put the grub?” 

"Grub?” Amy laughed. “Just put them on the counter like usual you idiot.” 

“What’s wrong with grub?” he raised a brow as he strolled over to the kitchen. 

“It's very Lion King isn’t it?” 

“Timon and Pumba,” he corrected, but paused when he saw Clara sitting at the table, looking down at her hands. “Oh, hey. What’s up?” 

“H-Hi,” she grinned up at him. 

“What’s up with the glasses and hat? We’re inside,” he asked as he put the groceries on the kitchen counter, taking the crisps and biscuits out of the bag. 

"Migraine!” Amy called from the door before rushing outside to help Martha with her bags, well, only two bags full of DVD’s and drinks, but she needed the excuse to warn her about Clara. “So uh, she’s gonna turn tonight.” 

“Really?” she whispered as she let go of the DVD bag. “How do you know?” 

“Her eyes are gold,” the red-head whispered back as they walked to the door. “She has a hat and glasses to cover it. There’s such a thing as light migraine’s yeah?” 

“Well, technically yeah. But it’s usually also triggered by loud noises too.” 

“Okay, well no loud noises... Oh, she’s also more uh, wolf-ish, so she actually may be startled by sudden movements or loud noises.” 

“Noted,” Martha said in a hushed tone once they arrived just outside the kitchen. When they walked in Matt was sat opposite Clara, staring intently at her. He was obviously curious. “Hey Clara.” 

“H-Hey,” she waved slightly, and then tilted her head to the side once she saw the bags. “Y-You brought food too?” 

“Yeah, and DVD’s,” the doctor grinned as she walked past the two sitting down and put the food bag next to Matt’s. 

“Will you be okay with the movies?” Matt asked the smaller brunette as he looked over her. “With the migraine some of them might be-” 

“That would depend on what ones we watch,” Amy interrupted as she sat down next to Clara, carefully setting the DVD’s on the table. Although, before she could settle down there was another knock at the door. She sighed, “I’ll be back in a minute.” 

She slowly got up and went to answer it, motioning for Martha to follow. Confused, she did. Meanwhile Matt continued to stare at Clara, clearly not believing the migraine story. 

“Um... W-What do you-” 

“If you have a migraine why don’t you go upstairs?” Matt asked. “It’ll be quieter and darker.” 

Clara shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “D-Do you not want me here?” 

“Of course, I do,” he grinned, resting his head on his hands. “I want you to enjoy spending time with us, that’s all. Plus, the hat is distracting.” 

“D-Distracting?” she tilted her head. 

“It is for me at least,” Matt slowly stood up, making Clara tense up. It felt as if she were being interrogated. “I get there’s a light thing but I don’t think the hat is going to do what the glasses can’t. For me it’s easier to have one or the other, not both.” 

“Um-” 

“Can I have a look at the glasses?” he held his hand out slowly. “I have a pair in my car, they might be darker. I just want to see how tinted Amy’s old ones are.” 

Clara noticed Rory, Rose and Mels coming from the living room, and got increasingly nervous. “Um, I-I don’t thi-” 

Before she could finish the sentence, Matt took the glasses off her. It happened so fast she didn’t have time to react or shield her eyes. She merely stared forward wide eyed for a few moments before looking down at the table, and then squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to tear up. Whereas Matt stared at her, shock and awe evident in his features. 

“Did you guys see what I just saw?” Rose quietly asked everyone. 

“So, I was right?” Matt asked excitedly as he looked around the room. “She’s a werewolf?” 

Just at that moment Amy walked in, seeing the almost freeze frame scene in the kitchen. Panicking, she pushed past her friends to Clara’s shaking form. “Um, w-would you believe eye contacts?” 

“Glowing eye contacts?” he raised a brow. “Nuh-uh. Gotta do better than that Pond.” 

She looked between Clara, Matt, and four of her friends by the door before sighing in defeat. “Y-You won’t tell anyone right?” 

“Tell anyone?” Matt scoffed. “Why would we tell anyone?” 

“Well, for safety probably,” Mels shrugged. 

“Well if you tell anyone,” Martha interjected sternly as she pushed past Rose and Rory. “Safety is the least thing you’ll be.” 

“What are you talking about?” Rose asked as she set her purse on the dining table. 

“Um... W-Well it wouldn’t be your safety,” Amy managed to say, despite the feeling that she could breakdown any second. She was surprised Clara hadn’t started hyperventilating. “It would be mine.” 

“Okay, what’s going on?” Mel’s looked between the shaking brunette and her best friend. “Is she threatening you?” 

“No, n-no. Not her, I swear,” Amy quickly said so nobody would blame Clara. “Her um... Her Alpha of sorts... Kinda threatened me... I-If I told anyone she’ll kill me. We don’t k-know what she’ll do to us I she f-finds out all of you know.” 

“Even though you didn’t tell us,” Matt frowned as he sat back down, waving the sunglasses slightly. “I figured it out and they just happened to come into the room.” 

“I’m not sure if she’ll go with that, she was,” she gulped, remembering that evening like it was yesterday. “Rather uh, well she really wanted me dead...” 

“Okay, well what about we don’t talk about it outside?” he suggested. “Only here, just in case she’s keeping tabs?” 

“T-That’s a good idea,” Clara finally spoke, however timidly. She sighed and looked up at them, and up at Amy with a small smile. “G-Get all the questions over with?” 

“You sure?” she sat down next to the brunette, a worried expression on her face. 

“Y-Yeah,” she nodded almost frantically. 

“Um... Fine,” the human sighed and gestured for her friends to sit down. Mels sat down next to Matt, Rose sat down between her and Amy, and Martha sat down between Clara and Matt, whereas Rory sat on the counter by the sink. “Guys get your questions over with. One at a time though yeah?” 

“Can I go first?” Matt asked excitedly with his hand raised slightly. 

“Sure-” 

“Are you like classical werewolf, or like a Lycan from Underworld? Oh! Or Wolfblood?” 

“Um... I-I don’t know-” 

“She’s like a Wolfblood wolf, just no black veins,” Amy responded for her, knowing she wouldn’t know any of the shows he was referencing. 

“Can I ask one?” Rose questioned, raising her hand slightly. Clara nodded and turned her attention to her. “How uh, how old were you when you turned?” 

“I-I was ten w-when I-I was bitten,” she answered as she slowly put her hand to her shoulder and gently rubbed it. 

“Is that where you were bitten?” she asked. “Wait, is that why you had to measure her for clothes?” 

“Y-Yeah,” Amy admitted with a small smile. “Um, a creator’s mark doesn’t fade, wasn’t that what Vastra said?” 

“Vastra?” Mels questioned. 

“M-My friend from the pack, s-she talked to Amy and protected her from Missy,” Clara answered before Amy could. 

“Wait,” Martha held her hand up a moment. “If you were turned when you were ten, were you still in school?” 

“N-No... I-I got taken to the pack s-shortly after-” 

Before she could spiral about the events _that_ took place that night, Martha asked another question. 

“What’s your educational background then?” 

“Education,” Clara thought for a moment, looking back at what she learnt growing up. “Um, I mainly k-know English, a bit of M-Maths, a-and uh, Pack History-” 

“You know your pack history?” Matt asked, intrigued by that information. 

“She just said dumbass,” Mels rolled her eyes. 

“Hey-” 

“Clara, can you swear?” she asked, a small smirk on her face as she ignored Matt’s childish glare. 

That question caught her off guard. “Um...” 

“Say ‘fuck’.” 

“Uh-” 

“Mels, no,” Amy shook her head. 

“C’mon, just say it.” 

“Don’t.” 

“She’s an adult Amy, she can swear if she wants to,” she groaned. 

“And she doesn’t-” 

“Clara, who are you going to listen to? Me or Amy?” 

It was suddenly quiet then as everyone looked at the brunette. She thought for a moment before answering. “Um... A-Amy-” 

“Seriously?” Amy asked, genuinely surprised. 

“Really? Geez,” Mels groaned as she tilted her head back. She then pointed between the two. “Amy, make her swear.” 

“No. She’s not swearing-” 

“She’s an adult, let her swear.” 

“Not if sh-” 

“It’s not like you’re her mother.” 

It fell silent. It felt awkward as everybody stared at the brunette, awaiting a response, yet was only met with her blinking away tears. 

“Melody,” Amy whispered harshly, gently wrapping an arm around the nearly crying brunette. 

“Oh, shit sorry,” she said, remembering the cover story. “Was that story true then?” 

“N-No,” Clara gulped as she shook her head, calming herself down. “Just uh... t-they died...” 

“Sorry,” Mels quietly apologised, unsure of what else to say. 

“Um, a-anymore q-questions?” Clara asked as she looked around. 

“Actually, I have loads-” 

“Matt,” Amy warned. 

“But one of them is important,” he whined. 

“It’s okay,” Clara smiled slightly. “G-Go ahead.” 

“What is it like being here compared to being outside in the wilderness a lot?” 

“Um,” she paused as she thought. “I-It is quite strange really. N-Nice, and good. I-I'm just not used to being in w-wolf form less and b-being around all of this... Man-made stuff re-really. I uh, d-don't remember much of my c-childhood so...” 

“How do you not remember your childhood?” Rory asked, genuine concern and curiosity laced in his voice. 

“W-When you get bitten you uh, s-start to slowly forget your human life...” 

“Shit,” Mels muttered, whereas the other humans didn’t know what else to say. 

“Hey Amy, can I talk to you privately for a moment?” Matt asked suddenly. 

“Um, sure?” she looked at him confused. He got up and motioned towards the door. “Martha you’re in charge while I’m gone.” 

“In charge?” Martha questioned as Amy stood up and followed him out of the kitchen. 

“Yeah, just nothing too personal yeah?” 

“Sure!” she called back. 

“So,” Amy turned to Matt once they got to the living room. “What do you want?” 

“What do you think of going to Kler woods tonight?” 

“Kler woods?” 

“Yeah,” he grinned. “We can all camp out. Usually there’s nobody there and Clara can transform and be in her own environment in her wolf form. She can run around and stuff – can she control-” 

“Yeah, she can control herself,” Amy nodded. “I can tell her not to wander off too far and be back before she turns... I’ll have to bring spare clothes...” 

“Spare,” Matt shook his head. “Nevermind. So, you’re in? We can convince the others?” 

“Yeah, we can do that,” she grinned, happy that he was trying to help Clara feel comfortable, despite it also being a way for him to see how it happens. She didn’t mind that though, as long as Clara was safe, that’s all that mattered. 

“Great!” 


	18. Intrusive

Everyone agreed to Matt’s proposal to venture out to  Kler woods for the night and went off to get their old camping gear they hadn’t used since high school.  Amy admitted to giving hers to her Aunt Sharon when she moved out, thinking she wouldn’t use it again since they stopped when they all left school. Fortunately, Matt had a spare and brought it over as quickly as he could.

“Since when do you have two tents?” Amy asked as she took a bag from him once he got into the kitchen.

“Since always,” he shrugged as he put his down on the table. “Never needed to use the second one before...”

“Was it-”

“Yeah,” he quickly nodded. “Um, about Clara...”

“What about her?” she raised a brow, curious as to why he brought her up, yet assumed it was mainly to change the subject.

“Rose told me how I acted came ac ross as, uh, well she called me an ass to be  honest .”

“You were intrusive, and scared her a little,” Amy nodded slowly as she glanced around, hoping the brunette in question was still upstairs getting ready to leave. “Thinking about it, you might want to explain to her you mean no harm, she’s still pretty wary of you.”

“Right,” he sighed. “I didn’t mean to scare her-”

“I know that,” she  turned to him.  “You just need to tell her that.”

At that moment Clara came down the stairs with a small ruck sack loosely slung over her arm, one strap not being held. She paused in the doorway once she saw Matt and looked over him and the camping gear he brought.

“Speak of the devil,” Matt muttered as he straightened up and turned to her, clearing his throat as he grinned apologetically at her. “Hey Clara, I’m sorry for how I acted earl ier , I uh... I’ve been told that I was rude and uh, what was it you said Amy?”

“ Intrusive .”

“Intrusive,” he snapped his fingers as if he knew the answer all along. The sudden movement made the brunette flinch, yet the action confused her, evident by her little head tilt. Matt slowly lowered his hand and grinned at her nervously. “Yeah, that word... But seriously, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or even out you to anyone, I was just really curious and  kinda have trust issues, especially with brunette’s who suddenly appear in my life via a best friend. ”

Clara looked confused for a moment and looked like she was going to ask about it, but Amy shook her head slightly at her, knowing what she wanted to ask was too personal, even for them. Luckily, Matt didn’t notice.

“Honestly, I was  worried  that you’d take Amy away from us...”

“I-I’d never take her away from you lot , ” she finally spoke, glancing up at the red-head momentarily before bringing her attention back to Matt.

“I know that now , ” he sighed.

“It’s u -u nderstandable to be wary of me,” Clara nodded as she thought over the last few weeks, and how it might have been perceived by Amy’s friends. “I did just pop into your lives s-suddenly, and you c-coming back after months seeing me h-here...”

“Yeah, it was a bit alarming,” he admitted, scratching the back of his head. “But I’m okay with it now, and I can assure you I’m not going to  tell anyone about what you are, and nobody else is either. I mean, it’s not like anyone would believe us anyway.”

“T-That’s what Amy said,” the brunette smiled slightly at the memory, not looking at anyone particular. “Quite odd though, c-claiming nobody will b-believe you, b-but you figured it out w-when you only just m-met me... A-And the people not believing you d-doesn't really... N- Never mind ...”

“No, what? I  wanna know,” Matt stepped forward, curious of what she was trying to say.

“Even if we claim people won’t believe us it’s not a guarantee that we won’t tell,” Amy sighed, finally understanding her friend’s trepidation. “It would just mean people won’t believe, or at least want proof. With you here, proof is easy to get.”

“Y-Yeah,” Clara nodded. However, before they could reassure the brunette that it wouldn’t happen – despite her believing it anyway – Martha walked through the door, struggling to carry her four bags through the door.

“Need help?” Matt called out when he heard the struggle, and walked over to see her putting two on the floor. “Gonna take that as a yes.”

Clara turned to the front door but back away into the kitchen, only now aware she wasn’t wearing anything to cover her eyes. All it took was for one stranger to pass by, or for someone from the pack see her, and there would be trouble. She turned to Amy and smiled up at her slightly.

“You okay?” she asked, noticing her skittishness.

“Um, yeah,” she flicked her tongue out to her lips before looking up at her fully. “Sorry,  just h -had a thought...”

“What thought?” Amy raised a brow as she put her borrowed bag on the table.

“T-That anyone could be out there...”

“Ah, yeah, there’s that,” she glanced outside and looked back at the still golden eyed brunette. “I still have the glasses and hat. It is a nice day and we’re not going to socialise with any strangers, so it should be okay.”

“Hey guys, Matt’s helping everyone with their bags,” Martha said as she walked in, unknowingly interrupting their conversation. “He’s very keen on going. Also, Clara, how are you with taking tablets?”

“Tablets?” she tilted her head to the side. “Um, o-okay I think?”

“I have some strong travel sickness tablets from my sister that you could try?” she shrugged and handed her a small pack of non-branded tablets. “They should work, but please say if you need us to stop.”

“T-Thanks,” Clara grinned up at her as she took them. “W-When will I need to take  one ?”

“Usually within twenty minutes before you go in the car, so probably now. But you can’t have any more until 6 hours after you’ve taken this one.”

“Okay,” she nodded and strolled over to the sink to get a glass of water.

“Is everyone ready?” Amy asked as she turned her attention to Martha.

“Yup,” she grinned. “We’re going with Matt and Rory and Rose are going with Mels.”

“They must have a death wish to go in a car with her,” the red-head laughed.

“D-Death wish?” Clara asked once she swallowed the tablet and water. Her nose scrunched up in disgust as she stuck her tongue out childishly.

“Horrible taste?” Amy raised a brow slightly with a small smirk.

“Yeah,” she smiled sheepishly as she put the glass down and put the rest of the tablets in her bag before swinging it over her shoulder. “So uh, d-death wish?”

“We’re just joking around,” Martha assured her.

“Yeah,” Amy swung the bag she borrowed over her shoulder and grabbed her smaller rucksack from the chair. “Everyone ready?”

“Yup!”


	19. Into The Woods

The drive up to Kler woods was rather uneventful. They got McDonalds on the way and ate in the car park since it was safer to go through the drive thru rather than eat in the busy fast food restaurant. They talked a bit about what was going to happen, how much further it was to the woods, and laughed when Clara looked stunned when she had McDonald’s fries for the first time since she could remember, and surprisingly liked the chicken nuggets. She also liked the strawberry milkshake that she had with it. Fortunately, she ate all of her food and even had some of Amy’s double cheese burger. It was mainly to taste it but she liked it too so they split it. Amy didn’t mind, seeing as she had a large meal whereas the brunette didn’t. They still had the snacks from earlier in the car anyway.

On the way to the woods Clara sat by the window on the driver's side with Amy right next to her. She claimed it was to make sure she was okay and didn’t throw up like the last time, but Matt and Martha – who sat in the front – knew she was lying to them and herself. Not that they said anything. 

Seeing as it was still warm and sunny, Clara having the window open wearing her borrowed sunglasses and hat didn’t seem suspicious, which eased her mind. The air coming through the window felt nice against her skin as she edged closer to the door when they got to a farmland area with hedges on each side of the car.

“Careful,” Amy teased, a small giggle escaping her once she saw the brunette pause and turn to her. “You don’t want a stinging nettle or something whack you in the face.” 

Clara backed away from the window slightly and looked at her with a confused look. “I-I wasn’t going to-” 

Just as she was trying to speak a long nettle hit the window made her jump. 

“I’ve made that mistake before,” Amy laughed. “Good thing I had Martha here.” 

“It was a small barely noticeable scratch and you behaved like an animal had scratched you,” Martha rolled her eyes. 

“It felt like it!” the red-head argued back, waving her arms around comically. “It was like whiplash or something!” 

“No it wasn’t,” Matt laughed. “’Tis but a scratch!” 

“At least my arms not off,” Amy laughed. She glanced at Clara, who looked confused as ever. “I so have to show you that movie when we get home.” 

“Oh, so it was a ref-reference?” 

“Yes,” Matt nodded as he looked in the middle rear-view mirror at her. “Well, sort of. Great movie though, we should definitely watch it next movie night.” 

“How long is it now?” Martha raised a brow, turning her attention to the driver. 

“To the woods?” 

“Yep.” 

“Five minutes?” 

“Around fifteen. God your sense of time is terrible,” Amy shook her head slightly with an exasperated sigh. 

“How do you know it’s around fifteen?” he looked back at her for a moment before quickly turning his attention to the road. 

“We’ve been here so many times,” she rolled her eyes. “And I used to come here with my mum and dad, so I’ve gotten used to knowing how long it takes to get there.” 

“W-What did you do in the woods with your f-family?” Clara asked. 

“Stuff people do when they go to the woods,” she shrugged. “We took Scout and Mrs. Finch there a few times, when she couldn’t drive. Even when she could and got Riley I went with her a few times.” 

“How old was she back then?” Matt asked as he turned the corner. 

“Oh um... In her early thirties? I’m not sure.” 

“Sc-Scout?” Clara tilted her head, occasionally glancing back out the window, wary of any long nettles that could poke into the car. 

“Her first dog,” Amy explained. “He was a husky, energetic like Riley. He had to be put down though, had a tumour or something. I was still rather young so my Auntie didn’t bother explaining it to me and I don’t want to ask Audrey about it now.” 

“Yeah, that wouldn’t be a good conversation to have,” Matt chimed in. 

“Yeah, hence why I avoid it.”

* * *

A short quiet drive later they finally arrived at Kler woods, with Mels close behind. Matt jumped out as soon as he parked and rushed to the boot with the bags, clearly too excited and impatient for camping out. Laughing, the girls followed suit. Clara looked around the area, noticing that there were no other cars parked, which was a relief, and that it surprisingly felt so good to be back in nature. They had gone for a walk with Riley and Mrs. Finch before but it was more of a small field with a row of trees rather than a woods or forest area. 

“Don’t go wolfing out on us yet,” Amy grinned as she playfully nudged her shoulder. She laughed when the brunette seemingly snapped out of her daze with a small shake of the head and took her glasses off, showing her golden eyes properly. They were almost hypnotising, drawing the red-head into them. She shook her own head to take her out of her daze and walked over to help Matt get the tents out of the boot. 

They all walked a bit away from the car to an empty, flat space for them to ‘set up camp’ as Matt had said. It was surrounded by a ditch and nettles, so they put the tents away from the edge for safety. Matt had a pop-up tent for one, so his was easy to assemble once he unfolded his blue fleece and laid it down in the tent. Whereas everyone else struggled. Clara tried to help but got flicked on the nose by the end of the frame when it shot out of the ground. Luckily, she jumped back just in time. Matt stepped in then and – in order for her not to feel left out – got her to pick up the fleeces and sleeping bags from their duffel bag. She did as she was told. 

“Hey, when we’re all settled wanna play spin the bottle?” Mels asked as she and Martha set their tent up. 

“We’re not kids Mels,” Amy laughed. She stepped away from the tent once Matt had successfully pinned the frame down. 

“Not that one, I mean, we can spin the bottle and whoever it lands on has to answer a question by the spinner,” she explained. “So Clara can get to know us better, be more comfortable.” 

“And so you can know more about her,” Martha sighed. 

“Okay yeah, I’m curious okay? Never met a werewolf before. ‘Sides, we haven’t talked much.” 

“Um, I-I don’t mind,” Clara chimed in as she put the sleeping bags and fleeces in the done-up tent. 

“Oh, speaking of questions-” 

“Even though you brought it up,” Amy rolled her eyes. 

Ignoring her, Mels focused her attention on the shorter brunette. “Can we pet you when you’re in wolf form?” 

“Oh um,” Clara paused, clearly a bit stunned by the question. “Yeah, s-sure. Just... um, a-appropriately...” 

“Of course,” she nodded. “Thanks though.” 

“So, this spin the bottle question style,” Amy walked over to Clara and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Do we even have an empty bottle?” 

“Yup! I brought one,” Mels grinned triumphantly as she took a cider bottle out of her ruck sack. “Should we get in a circle or?” 

Everyone, bar from Clara and Mels, groaned and sat down on the floor in a rather wide-spread circle. Mels and Matt were situated next to each other, with Clara and Amy – sat rather closely – opposite them. Whereas Martha was in-between Clara and Matt, and Rory and Rose were between Amy and Mels. 

“I’ll go first then?” the black-haired girl with the bottle raised a brow before setting it in the middle of the circle. With no objections, she spun it. It landed on the werewolf. 

“So, y-you ask the question?” she asked. 

“Yeah, and after you’ve answered you spin the bottle,” the red-head next to her replied when her friend merely nodded. 

“Oh, o-okay,” the brunette nodded. “G-Go ahead then-” 

“Clara, what’s your sexuality?” Mels raised a brow, glancing between the two girls. 

“Mels,” Amy hissed, glaring at her. “You can’t just-” 

“Geez, stop getting over protective Ames, it’s just a question,” she rolled her eyes. “If she doesn’t want to- Are you okay Clara?” 

Everyone looked over at the brunette, quick to notice tears in her eyes and that she was not focusing on anyone. She merely stared at the ground, trying to control her almost erratic breathing. 

“Clara?” Amy asked softly as she looked over her and slowly reached out to touch her so she could get brought out of whatever she was reliving in her head. As soon as she made contact she jumped and stared at the human, eyes wide as her breathing calmed down. “W-What do you need?” 

“Um,” she breathed out as she looked at the floor for a few seconds, eyes flickering side to side as she tried to figure out what she needed to stop spiralling. “R-Reassurance...?” 

“That you’re not with her?” the human questioned, yet had a good guess it had something to do with how she was treated in the pack, with what Missy had done. She had a quick nod in response. “Remember you’re with us now, not her. She’s gone. And if it’s to do with Mels insensitive question, you are safe here. Whatever your answer is nothing bad will happen, and you don’t even have to answer it. We can just move on. Whatever she did to you won’t happen again, I promise.” 

Clara nodded as she took a few deep breathes and shook her head for a second before focusing on Amy. She had no doubt the other humans had loads of questions regarding Missy, ones she wasn’t even sure she could answer. Luckily, Amy understood that. 

“T-Thanks...” 

“It’s only fair, you did help me out of my spiralling after all,” she smiled at her. 

“When did you spiral?” Matt asked, concern laced in his voice. 

“Ages ago, it doesn’t matter,” Amy waved her hand dismissively, not wanting to think back to that night. 

“Who’s ‘she’?” Mels asked carefully, not wanting to cause Clara to have a panic attack again. “If you don’t want to talk about it it’s fine.” 

“M-Missy,” Clara sighed. “My uh, f-former Alpha I guess... Oh, and to uh, a-answer your first question, I’m uh... What’s the one where you l-like both genders?” 

“Was it not talked about in your pack?” Matt raised a brow. 

“There’s bisexual or pansexual for that one,” Mels answered her question, talking over Matt’s question with a slight smirk. “Any of them ring a bell?” 

“Bisexual,” the brunette nodded. “I-I remember Jenny saying it sounded like me when we talked about it.” 

“Awesome,” Mels grinned. “Martha, Rose and Matt are bisexual too. Sorry, outing you guys, but it’s only fair.” 

“I don’t mind,” Rose shrugged. 

“I’m out to everyone so I don’t either,” Matt grinned. 

“Guessing we’re going to out everyone?” Martha looked around the group. 

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but I’m the only hetero here,” Rory said as he raised his hand slightly. 

“And that’s a-okay Rory,” Rose nudged him. 

“I’m pan and poly,” Mels grinned. 

“M-Missy’s t-that,” Clara almost muttered, staring at the ground. 

“Pansexual or poly?” Amy asked carefully, hoping she wouldn’t spiral again. 

“B-Both I think. S-She told me she was pan,” she shook her head. “N-Not like it matters, it’s n-not like every p-pansexual is like her...” 

“Um, y-yeah,” the red-head nodded slowly. “At least you don’t have a negative view on t-them.” 

“I’m not the only pansexual person here wolfie,” Mels smirked as she glanced at her friend. 

Clara looked confused for a moment, and then turned to Amy. “Y-You’re pan too?” 

“Yeah,” she grinned nervously, a tinge of pink on her cheeks as she moved a strand of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. “But as you can see, nothing like Missy.” 

“N-Never said you were,” she shook her head slightly. “I’d never compare you to her-” 

“What does Missy look like?” Matt asked suddenly. 

“Oh um, rather tall, brunette, blue eyes,” Amy listed out as she counted her fingers. “She’s Scottish, if that’s anything.” 

“That is,” he nodded. “How old would you say she is?” 

“Early fifties,” Clara tilted her head. “W-Why?” 

“In the pack,” he shuffled as he cleared his throat. “Was there anyone called John Smith?” 

“B-Blue eyes, b-brunet but now grey hair?” 

“Probably would be now, yeah.” 

“Y-Yes,” she admitted. “H-How do you know-” 

“He’s my brother.” 


	20. I Will

It fell silent. Nobody knew what to say as they stared at Matt in disbelief. He merely stared at the floor, seemingly trying to figure all of it out. Clara however, had a guilty look on her face as she looked over him. 

“So,” Martha cleared her throat as she broke the awkward silence. “Since when do you have a brother?” 

“Well, step-brother to be exact,” Matt clarified, looking up at her. “He’s like twenty something years older than me and walked out on us when I was little.” 

“Was he always around then?” Amy asked carefully. She knew some things about John, but never got the full story. It seemed like today was a day to tell the truth about things. 

“Yeah, he said he wanted to meet me, always wanted a younger brother,” he smiled sadly. “Wasn’t annoyed at me when I would spill stuff on him either, or slap me when I would zone out and then hyper fixate on things.” 

“I’m sorry, but that doesn’t sound like this John,” she said hesitantly, glancing down at Clara. “He’s a bit of an ass and tried to drown Clara-” 

“T-That could be because of Missy-” 

“Yeah, he was different around her,” Matt started, not focusing on anyone. He frowned as he remembered her. “She was his girlfriend for around two years before she took him away from us.” 

“B-By different,” Clara chimed in hesitantly, not wanting to be on the receiving end of his anger. “What do you m-mean?” 

“He was rather nervous around her sometimes, and introducing her to mum and dad. It was like he was a teenager again, at least, that was what he said to me,” he laughed slightly before frowning again. “After a year he was colder. He would be at her constant beck and call, started to visit less. He wore jumpers even in the summer, which was unlike him. He usually liked the sun and would want his arms to tan a bit more, but the last summer I had before he left, he stayed inside, with her. One time he did come out and play with me, but always had these sunglasses on and yelled at me when I tried to take them...” 

“H-How old were you then?” she asked when he paused, clearly feeling even more guilty about him ripping the glasses from her earlier. 

“Seven or eight, I’m not sure,” he shook his head. “After that day, after he scolded me and pushed me to the ground, he left. I tried to apologise and begged him to stay, but he wouldn’t have it. He said he didn’t want to be around an insolent little kid anymore.” There was a catch in his throat and he paused, blinking away tears. “I-I never saw him again... Didn’t even know he was still alive...” 

Before anyone could respond Clara rushed over and hugged him. It stunned everyone. He looked shocked and glanced up at Amy with a confused expression. She merely raised her hands and shrugged, shocked that she would do that too. 

“S-Sorry,” Clara muttered as she pulled back. “Y-You seemed like y-you needed it...” 

“Thanks,” he smiled at her. “I appreciate it, really. Just took me by surprise, is all. Um-” 

“C-Clara?” Amy interrupted as she stood up. The brunette turned and glanced up at her, confused by the concern laced in her voice. She tilted her head when the human motioned towards her hands. Confused, she looked down to see her usually pale hands and almost luminous yellow colour. “You’re uh, you’re glowing. Do you need to...?” 

“Y-Yeah,” she stood up abruptly, getting what she was trying to say. “Tent?” 

“Yeah,” the red-head nodded as she rushed over, closely followed by the brunette. 

“Wait, are you turning?” Mels asked as she stood up. 

“Kinda. She needs to uh... Strip first otherwise her clothes are ruined,” Amy replied as she covered the undressing brunette for privacy. 

“But when she turned back when I saw her, she was in her usual clothing,” Martha pointed out, generally confused. They all looked at the golden light emitting from the tent behind their friend, getting brighter and brighter. It disappeared as quickly as it appeared and a wolf peered its head in between Amy’s legs. They all had to stifle a laugh. 

“Yes, well from what I know,” Amy answered once her attention was off Clara. She looked down to see the wolf and stepped to the side with a small laugh. “On a full moon it’s stronger and takes away the clothes, but if she turns willingly, they’re good. I don’t understand it, but that was the simplest way we can explain it. Right Clara?” 

The wolf barked and what seemed like nodded as she stuck her tongue out. She twirled around as she looked up at the trees. They assumed she could understand them like she did when she looked human, just that her attention span may be limited. 

“Clara, sit,” Mels patted the ground. The wolf stopped in her tracks and glanced down at where she patted before doing so. “That’s adorable.” 

“Don’t just treat her like a dog,” Amy rolled her eyes, yet couldn’t help the small smile appearing on her face as she glanced down at the canine, still sitting by her side with her tail wagging slightly. 

“Promise, I won’t,” she raised a hand and did a cross motion on her chest with her free one. 

“Okay, well I’ve seen her turn,” Rose yawned as she got up. “I’m going to bed now.” 

“Really? You stayed up just to watch her turn?” the red-head raised a brow and crossed her arms, not helping the tinge of anger that came with her words. 

“Chill out Ames, I have work in the morning,” she rolled her eyes as she strolled past the two and gently patted Clara on the head before heading towards her tent. “Need to get at least some sleep.” 

“If you have work why did you agree to the camping trip?” 

“We haven’t done it in ages,” she shrugged. “Besides, since when do I say no to a camping trip?” 

“That’s true,” Rory chimed in. “If memory serves me right, it was usually Rose making us go camping.” 

“Yeah, I remember that too,” Martha smirked. “Yet got annoyed if she broke a fake nail.” 

“They’re expensive!” 

Amy merely laughed as they talked amongst themselves, trying to point out who was the most ‘girly’ amongst them. Even Matt, who hadn’t said a word and stared at Clara since the glowing hands revelation, joined in on the banter, like the conversation about John had never happened. 

Looking down, she realized that Clara had leaned into her leg as she stared at her friends. God knows what was going on inside her head. Amy grinned down at her before looking up at the night sky, as if only now she had realised it had gone dark. Not dark enough for it to be pitch black, but enough for the electric camping lanterns to be on and provide enough light for them to see clearly. She guessed it was almost midnight, if not by the turning-into-a-wolf event, then by how dark it had gotten and that Rose was tired. The more she pondered on time, she realised she was also tired and remembered she hadn’t gotten much sleep the night prior. 

She glanced down at Clara and patted her on the head, quickly getting her attention and her tail wagging as she tilted her head up. Laughing slightly, she knelt down to her height and whispered softly in her ear; “Go on.” 

Clara turned to her; confusion somehow evident in her features as she tilted her head. 

“You can go gallivanting off into the woods if you want, as long as you come back into my tent before you change,” she stroked behind the canine’s ear. “Don’t want anyone to see or to go out looking for a naked girl. If anyone saw it would be hard to explain. Raise your right paw if you understand.” 

She raised her right paw for a few seconds before standing up and stepping closer to the human. The wolf perched her head on her shoulder, clearly initiating a hug. Amy smiled and hugged her back for a few seconds and pulled back. Clara leaned forward and licked the human’s cheek before jumping back and barking slightly at the other humans. 

“I think she’s saying goodnight,” Amy laughed as she stood up, staring at the almost skittish wolf, clearly excited to be in the woods. “She’s going to go running off into the wilderness for a while.” 

“Goodnight!” they all waved at her as she scurried off deeper into the woods. 

“She’s going to be okay yeah?” Matt asked as he stood up, staring at where the wolf once stood. 

“Hopefully,” Amy stretched. “We’ve been here plenty of times, if she isn’t back by sunrise, I’ll go looking for her-” 

“We’ll go looking for her,” Martha corrected. “She’s not just your responsibility anymore Ames, we’ve got your back. No matter who we’ve gotta go against.” 

Knowing she was hinting at Missy, Amy merely nodded, a small smile on her face. She looked over at the direction Clara scampered off to, knowing where it lead. “Yeah... Thanks guys, really. She should be fine, there’s nobody about here.” 

“Yeah,” they all agreed.

* * *

Surprisingly, it had been a rather uneventful night and everyone managed to get a suitable amount of sleep, considering most of them had work in the morning and weren’t used to camping every month like they used to. Amy woke up at some point in the night – well, morning to be exact – to see a brunette girl curled up into her under the fleece they had brought. She was too tired and not awake enough to figure out how long she had been there, or if she were dressed or not, so she just went back to sleep. The later morning where everyone woke up however... 

“Shit,” she muttered under her breath when she noticed how close Clara had gotten in what must’ve been only three or less hours since she first noticed her. She prayed to deity's she didn’t believe in that she was clothed, if not for Clara’s wellbeing – and for her not to catch pneumonia – then for Amy’s own piece of mind that she didn’t have a cute nude girl right next to her. She knew she’d never live this bout of gay panic down if any of her human friends saw her right now. 

Clara shifted in her sleep to face the red-head, face scrunched up adorably as she moved, her arms clumsily coming up over the fleece to reveal a red checked shirt – that looked too big for her. Amy carefully moved her head to see that the stack of piled clothes that were Clara’s were where she put them, only her underwear missing, and the checked shirt that the human brought for herself gone. Yup. Clara was wearing her clothes. It could only have been a mistake, she reckoned, seeing as she was probably exhausted and didn’t realise she put on Amy’s shirt, despite the sizing differences.

Amy sighed, relieved that she was clothed, somewhat, and didn’t have to worry about anyone seeing anything. Suddenly it got darker in the tent. She looked up to see Matt leaning over, changed out of the pyjama’s he had brought into his usual shirt and trousers, and looked between the two girls. 

“The others are getting ready to go,” he whispered. “Work.” 

“Right,” she glanced past Matt to see Rose carefully packing her sleeping bag into the travel bag. 

“How long has she been asleep?” he asked as he pointed at the sleeping brunette. 

“I don’t know,” Amy shrugged as she slowly leaned up. “Probably not long-” 

“Approximately t-two hours,” Clara groaned as she opened one eye, glaring at Matt. 

“Sorry,” he smiled bashfully. “Didn’t want to wake you.” 

“You okay?” Amy asked, smiling slightly at her as she rubbed at her eyes, still waking up herself. 

“Y-Yeah,” Clara stretched as she sat up, crossing her legs. She yawned; her tongue stuck out like a dog’s would. She smiled at the humans, yet her eyes were barely open. “C-Can I go to sleep in the car?” 

“We don’t have to go straight away-” 

“We can though,” she interrupted as she rubbed her eyes. “It’ll h-help with the travel s-sickness.” 

“That’s true,” Amy pointed at her, as if the action would back up her point. “But we need to get dressed before we can pack up.” 

“Okay,” Matt grinned. “I’ll wait in the car then.”

Luckily, the two girls woke up more once they got dressed and got the tent down, with the help of Matt. They all said their goodbyes at the carpark before hopping in. This time Amy sat in the front with Matt whilst Clara sat in the back on her own. Martha had opted for taking the car with Mels seeing as her and Rory had the same job and had to be in at the same time. Not that it mattered to them whether she was there or not, seeing as Clara curled up against the window and fell asleep throughout the entire journey. 

Once they got home Clara sat down on the sofa, clearly still tired but decided not to go to sleep otherwise she wouldn’t get any on the following night. Amy got two bottles of cherry Pepsi from the fridge for them before saying goodbye to Matt, who had helped take the bags in. They all bid their farewells by the time Amy sat next to Clara and turned the TV on. There was a bit of awkward silence between the two, well, until the human spoke up. 

“So uh, how was it?” 

“Oh,” Clara straightened up, as if the question had suddenly given her energy. She grinned up at the red-head. “It was wonderful. And I did get back to the tent like you said, which I almost didn’t until I saw the orange glow in the river’s reflection...” 

“You went all the way down to the river?” she raised a brow, a bit surprised she had ventured that far her first time there, and managed to get back in time. 

“Yeah, b-but since I knew I was going to be with you in the tent I didn’t go in. D-Didn’t want to get anything wet or the tent s-smelling like wet dog.” 

Amy laughed. “I definitely would have known when you got back then.” 

“Yeah,” she giggled. 

“Hey uh, I have a question. Well, more of a statement then a question,” Amy turned to face her. 

“Yeah?” Clara tilted her head as she paid her full attention to the human. 

“Your leg is healed.” 

“Oh,” she glanced down and swung it, as if she needed to prove it. Suddenly she looked down, remembering their agreement. “Y-Yeah.” 

“We did make a deal that you’ll stay here until it is,” the red-head reminded, even though she didn’t need to. 

“Y-Yeah we did...” 

“I know you’ll have to hide it from Audrey and pose as Echo still, but what do you think of staying?” Amy raised a brow, trying to hide her nervous energy. Clara stared at her, seemingly trying to weigh out the pros and cons, or simply in disbelief that the human could ask her to stay. When the silence stretched on, Amy started to nervously ramble. “We could try to make the camping trips a monthly thing, I’m sure everyone will be up for it-” 

“I will.” 

Now it was Amy’s turn to be stunned. “Wait really?” 

“Yeah,” Clara nodded, smiling sheepishly. “If y-you're willing to have me I’ll stay.” 

“Definitely,” Amy grinned; a small blush crept on her cheeks at her eagerness. There was a moment of silence as each girl tried to figure out what to say. “I guess we’re r-roommates or housema-” 

Clara hugged her suddenly. Her arms wrapped around her neck, tears in her eyes as she nuzzled her head into Amy’s neck. Amy hugged back, not knowing what else to do but liking the contact. It was far different from when she first met the brunette. It was nice. As the hugging stretched on, she could hear a sniffle from her new housemate and rubbed her back soothingly. 

“Hey,” she said softly. “What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing,” Clara shook her head. “Just...T-Thank you Amy. For everything, I- Really I can’t e-express how grateful I am for all you’ve done...” 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Amy smiled as she pulled the sniffling brunette away from her slightly so they could see each other's faces. She wiped away the tears with her thumb gently. “You don’t need to do anything to express your gratitude. I mean, staying with me speaks for itself. Really, it’s my pleasure to have you here, I’m just as happy as you-” 

“R-Really?” 

“Really,” she nodded. “Why don’t we get some food ‘ey? And maybe some things for your bedroom. Keep us busy so we don’t crash.” 

“B-Bedroom?” Clara tilted her head. 

“Yeah,” Amy grinned. “It’s gonna be your bedroom now, I mean, it practically was anyway. But this time you can have it decorated.”

“Y-You’re sure?”

“’Course,” Amy jumped up and held her hand out to her. “C’mon, let’s go get some stuff for  _ your _ bedroom.”

Grinning, she took the hand. She got pulled up and stumbled into the taller girl with a small giggle.

“On board then?”

“Yup!”

"Let's go then!" Amy grinned as they ran out of the house to the bus station, hand in hand. "You sure about this?"

Clara thought about it for a moment, yet had a big grin on her face so the hesitation was clearly for dramatics. She held onto Amy's hand and leant up on her toes to give her a - however brief - kiss on the cheek. 

"Definitely." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for liking/reading and especially commenting on this! It's been really fun to write and has an idea for a sequel, if anyone's interested?

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and Comments are greatly appreciated!


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